Bank official among four held for siphoning Rs 12 crore from Bengaluru firm’s accounts

The scam came to light on November 12, when Dreamplug executives detected unusual transactions in the company’s accounts. Dreamplug, which operates as an online payment aggregator with offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai, discovered that Rs 12.2 crore had been fraudulently withdrawn from its Axis Bank current account and nodal account, both opened in 2021. While Axis Bank had issued a corporate ID and four user IDs to the company, only two were activated, leaving the other two vulnerable.

Investigations revealed that the fraudsters exploited weaknesses in the bank’s processes. They gained unauthorised access to Dreamplug’s accounts by submitting forged documents, including fake board resolutions, seals and signatures. They also requested changes to the registered mobile number and email ID linked to the accounts, allowing them to intercept one-time passwords and authorise transactions. These changes were made despite discrepancies, as Dreamplug’s operations are based in Bengaluru, while the requests originated from Gujarat.

The first fraudulent request to change account details was made on July 22 at an Axis Bank branch in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, followed by another on October 12 at a branch in Abrama, Surat. In both instances, suspicious personal email IDs were used, including vrvithal098@gmail.com and utsavmaterial76@gmail.com, along with mobile numbers 9662369909 and 8469158856. Despite these red flags, the bank approved the changes, enabling the fraudsters to execute 37 transactions over 14 days, from October 29 to November 11, according to the police.

A police officer said the investigation revealed that Vaibhav was the kingpin behind the fraud, as he had access to sensitive account information and identified unused user IDs linked to Dreamplug’s accounts.

“In assisting him, Neha acted as an intermediary between the bank and the fraudsters, providing the sensitive information needed to execute the scheme. Shailesh worked closely with Vaibhav to create forged documents, including fake board resolutions and signatures. These documents were crucial in manipulating account details and bypassing security checks. Shubham was involved in laundering the stolen funds, facilitating the opening of 17 mule accounts across various banks, into which the stolen money was transferred. These accounts acted as conduits for laundering the Rs 12.20 crore,” the police officer said.