GURUGRAM: In 2024, authorities have arrested 21 bank officials—spanning both public and private sectors—in Gurugram for their alleged involvement in cybercrime cases. Police report that nearly ₹300 crore has been defrauded in the region this year, with at least five suspects apprehended locally.
On Friday, two individuals, including a deputy manager from a public sector bank in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad, were arrested for defrauding an ex-serviceman of ₹1.2 crore under the guise of stock market investments. Vishwas Kumar had opened a current account for a fictitious firm at an address in Sector 45, Noida, without any physical verification in September 2023, and passed the account to fraudsters who used it to scam ₹7 crore from victims across India.
The following day, police arrested two additional suspects, including Ram Avatar, a deputy manager from a public sector bank in Jaipur. They are accused of opening seven bank accounts and providing access to cybercriminals for fraudulent activities. Avatar reportedly opened these accounts for a commission of ₹7,000 each; one account was used to defraud a Gurugram resident of ₹24.6 lakh.
According to police, these bank officials have been implicated for facilitating cybercrimes by providing accounts with forged details to fraudsters. Last year, the total amount defrauded reached ₹210 crore, while in 2022 it was ₹109 crore.
Siddhant Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police for Cybercrime, stated that the arrested officials knowingly opened accounts for fraudulent purposes and received commissions for their actions, often bypassing necessary physical address verifications.
Investigators have communicated with the Reserve Bank of India and financial services departments, urging them to modify account opening procedures to prevent such fraud. They have suggested that banks allow changes to linked mobile numbers only after three months to hinder immediate exploitation by criminals.
“While most banks assist in freezing transactions quickly, some delay in sharing information or freezing accounts, ultimately benefiting criminals and resulting in further losses for victims,” the DCP noted.
