Fraudsters use Kandivali man’s identity to route cyber fraud proceeds

The man, Nitin Chavan, lives with his parents, brother, wife and son. According to police, he had never opened the firm or authorised the bank accounts

MUMBAI: A 28-year-old Kandivali caretaker was in for a shock when police teams from Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat arrived at his home in connection with cyber fraud cases, only for him to discover that fraudsters had allegedly used his identity to open a firm and bank accounts through which crores of rupees in fraud proceeds were routed.

Fraudsters use Kandivali man’s identity to route cyber fraud proceeds

The man, Nitin Chavan, lives with his parents, brother, wife and son. According to police, he had never opened the firm or authorised the bank accounts.

The trouble began in April when a Trombay police team investigating a ₹4.5 lakh cyber fraud targeting a senior citizen visited Chavan’s home. Police told him that the fraud money had been transferred to a bank account in his name and served him a notice under Section 41A of the CrPC.

When Chavan investigated, he learnt that current accounts had been opened in his name at two private banks in Dadar East. A firm, Balaji Enterprises, had also allegedly been incorporated in his name in Kandivali.

Police said the initial funds used to open the current accounts were transferred from other accounts allegedly created using forged documents.

However, the notices continued. The Rajkot cybercrime police contacted Chavan in connection with a case registered in March 2025, while the Indore Cyber Cell and Siddharth Nagar Cyber Cell in Uttar Pradesh also told him that accounts in his name had allegedly been used to transfer cyber fraud proceeds.

Chavan said he struggled to convince investigators that he was himself a victim and not part of the fraud network. The earlier A-summary report in the Trombay case helped establish his claim, police said.

Since the bank accounts had been opened in Dadar East, Chavan approached Matunga police. An FIR has now been registered against unidentified persons under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating by personation, forgery and using forged documents or electronic records as genuine.