The accused used to lure job seekers by promising employment opportunities and would collect their documents under the pretext of completing job formalities, an official said
The accused in police custody on Wednesday
The Malwani Police in Mumbai have busted a gang involved in a sophisticated cyber fraud operation and arrested two accused who were using fake companies and bank accounts to route money obtained through online scams, the officials said on Wednesday.
According to the police officials, the accused used to lure job seekers by promising employment opportunities and would collect their documents under the pretext of completing job formalities. Using these documents, they registered fake private companies and opened current accounts in various banks.
These accounts were then used to deposit and move money acquired through cyber fraud, police said.
The cyber fraud came to light when a 20-year-old complainant received a GST notice to the address linked with one of the fake companies. Bank account transactions amounting to approximately Rs 3.42 crore were recorded within a span of just four months, an official said.
"The complainant is a 20-year-old woman and a resident of Malwani, who was searching for a job when she came in contact with the accused Abhishek Pandey and Akash Vishwakarma through 'Signal'. The duo promised her employment and collected her personal documents under the guise of completing hiring formalities," said investigating officer Police Sub Inspector D. Kurkute, Malwani Cyber Unit.
The accused used the complainant’s documents to set up a fake private limited company and opened multiple current accounts in her name across different banks. In one such account, around Rs 3.42 crore was transacted over the last four months.
The fraud came to light when the complainant received a GST notice, alerting her to the misuse of her identity.
"Based on the information and mobile numbers shared by the complainant, the police traced and arrested both accused from the Goregaon area on Tuesday," said an officer from Malwani Police Station.
During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused had duped dozens of job seekers in a similar manner—collecting their documents, creating fake companies, and operating bank accounts to route large-scale fraudulent transactions.
The accused used to transfer the gang’s fraudulently obtained money to other individuals linked to the network. Based on the information provided by the arrested suspects, police are now actively searching for other members associated with the cyber fraud racket.
"Among the arrested, Abhishek Pandey is a resident of Borivali, while Akash Vishwakarma hails from Kandivali. They were in contact with a larger cyber fraud gang and received a commission of Rs 5,000 per transaction made through the fake party accounts they helped create," the officer added.
Under the guidance of DCP Anand Bhoite (Zone 11), the cyber team including PSI Amar Shinde, PSI D. Kurkute, and cyber staff cracked this racket.
"We have seized a large cache of evidence from the accused, including 204 SIM cards, 115 bank passbooks from various banks, 271 debit and credit cards, a laptop, printer, and mobile phones," said Senior Inspector Shailendra Nagarkar of Malwani Police Station.
Further investigation is underway to identify other victims and accomplices involved in the racket.
"We urge job seekers to remain vigilant and avoid sharing personal documents without proper verification," he added.
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