Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee has revealed how fraudsters accessed his State Bank of India (SBI) account and stole ₹57 lakh.
As reported earlier, the funds were deposited in an account at the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Legislative Assembly branch during Banerjee's tenure as the MLA for Asansol South.
The account was inactive for several years as it was opened when the TMC leader was an MLA from Asansol (Dakshin) between 2001 and 2006. His MLA salary used to be deposited to the account.
The TMC MP was informed about the fraud by the branch manager.
After a formal complaint from the bank authorities, the Kolkata Police's cybercrime division has started an investigation. No arrests have been reported yet.
How fraudsters gain access to the MP's account
According to Kalyan Banerjee, the fraudsters used fake documents to activate the account.
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Banerjee has claimed that the fraudsters superimposed his photograph and used fake Aadhaar and PAN cards to carry out the criminal activity, PTI has reported.
{{/usCountry}}Banerjee has claimed that the fraudsters superimposed his photograph and used fake Aadhaar and PAN cards to carry out the criminal activity, PTI has reported.
{{/usCountry}}The miscreants also added a phone number to the account, following which they had access to all OTPs and transaction details, he alleged.
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"It is quite shocking... The account was opened when I was Asansol South MLA and remained dormant for several years after I became Serampore MP," Banerjee told PTI.
"The criminals transferred ₹57 lakh from my account. If this can happen to an MP, what will be the condition of a common man? How come these people found out that I had such a significant amount of money in my account?" Banerjee asked.
According to a report in News18, the funds were allegedly moved to several beneficiary accounts and spent on jewellery purchases and withdrawn through ATMs.
A senior officer of the Kolkata Police told PTI that the investigation in the case was on and that the police were going through the transactions and other details.