The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested two persons for allegedly opening fake bank accounts to transfer money obtained through online fraud. During the operation, police seized mobile phones, laptops and more than 50 bank passbooks from the accused.
Over the past few years, cyber fraud cases have witnessed a sharp rise, with fraudsters duping common citizens and siphoning off lakhs of rupees from their bank accounts. According to police, the accused had opened multiple fake accounts across different bank branches on a large scale to facilitate the transfer of fraud proceeds.
Acting on specific information, officials from Crime Branch Unit 3 learned that a substantial amount of fraudulent money was being routed through an office located in the Masjid Bunder area. After verifying the input, the team conducted a raid at the office on Wednesday.
During the raid, police arrested the accused identified as Shakib Nawaz Shorat Ali Khan (46) and Zamir Ahmed Mohammed Javed Ansari (42). Preliminary investigation revealed that the duo had floated nine bogus companies to channel money generated through online fraud. In the names of these fake firms, as many as 55 bank accounts were opened in different bank branches.
The accused allegedly transferred the defrauded money into these fake accounts and later withdrew the cash from the banks. Initial findings suggest that the accused may have siphoned off crores of rupees through the racket.
Police seized 10 mobile phones, two laptops, two pen drives, more than 50 bank passbooks and cash amounting to Rs 1.03 lakh during the raid. The total value of the seized property is estimated at Rs 2.35 lakh.
Police suspect the involvement of a larger gang in the case and further investigation is underway.