Rs. 3.3cr stolen from bizman’s account using SIM; 1 held

According to the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) cyber police, during the inquiry, they learned that the accused siphoned off the amount using a SIM card swapping method.

A 32-year-old Govandi resident was arrested on Sunday for allegedly fraudulently transferring ₹3.3 crore from the bank account of a businessman to multiple accounts.

Police believe that several other people were involved in the fraud as the money was transferred to various bank accounts.(HT FILE)

According to the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) cyber police, during the inquiry, they learned that the accused siphoned off the amount using a SIM card swapping method.

The arrested accused, identified as Shahnwaz Abrar Khan, is a resident of Shivaji Nagar in Govandi. He has been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act.

Police believe that several other people were involved in the fraud as the money was transferred to various bank accounts. “We have been inquiring and will arrest them soon,” said Vishal Thakur, deputy commissioner (cyber crime).

According to the police, the accused was keeping tabs on the businessman’s information and knew the victim’s mobile number. Khan approached the mobile service provider pretending to be the businessman and asked them to block his mobile number. After submitting bogus documents, he obtained a new SIM card for the same mobile number. The accused then transferred the money using the OTPs he received for transactions on the new SIM, said a police officer.

During the inquiry, the police learned that the accused transferred the money between July 7 and July 9. On July 12, when the businessman learnt that ₹3.3 crore of his had been transferred to multiple other accounts, he immediately approached the BKC cyber police station and filed a complaint.

Some amount from the businessman’s money had been transferred to Khan’s bank account. He was arrested and produced in court on Sunday.

“We found the accused’s details and a police team raided Khan’s residence in Govandi. They seized a few documents including his bank debit cards,” said the police officer.