A 34-year-old employee of a private bank was arrested for allegedly opening fake bank accounts that were used to siphon money in cyberfraud cases, police said on Sunday. The accused was held from Najafgarh in Delhi by a team from the Manesar Cybercrime police station following a tip-off received by Inspector Manoj Kumar, officials privy to the matter said.
Police identified the accused as Ajit Prasad, a resident of Bihar’s Siwan, who was working as a sales manager at a private bank in Connaught Place, Delhi. He was arrested on Thursday.
“Based on a complaint from a resident of Manesar on May 27 last year, an FIR was registered against an unidentified suspect for luring elderly people to buy stocks in exchange for hefty profits through a fake app, further defrauding them,” said a senior police official at the Manesar Cybercrime police station, requesting anonymity.
The police said the total amount defrauded by the private bank employee is still being ascertained as the investigation continues.
According to officials, the complainant alleged that the accused had been spamming them on WhatsApp, asking them to join a group where false promises of high returns on stock investments were made.
“The accused, produced before a local court in Gurugram on Friday, was sent on a two-day police remand. During interrogation, it emerged that he had opened two bank accounts of two companies using forged documents with the same address,” said Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police.
Investigators said both accounts were involved in suspected cyber fraud activities, with one account having 26 complaints registered across the country. “Out of the overall defrauded amount currently being estimated in the case, ₹1 lakh was transferred to the bank account of a firm named VVS Traders, which was fraudulently opened by the accused,” the senior police official added.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the bank accounts in the names of VVS Traders and Balaji Associates were opened using forged documents by depositing cheques belonging to other bank clients. Police said the accused allegedly received ₹10,000 for opening each fake account.
Turan said investigations are ongoing, with police analysing bank accounts and transaction details to trace the money trail and collect further evidence.