How a Rs 10,000 Instagram job scam led Delhi Police to a ‘bank account kit factory’

Police have arrested six people involved in the racket, including the alleged mastermind and a bank manager, and are probing the role of employees at several bank branches who allegedly helped open accounts used in cyber fraud.

The syndicate has also been linked to 156 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) across 19 states and Union Territories.

Busting the gang

The Delhi resident filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), from where the case was transferred to the Cyber Police Station of the Central district on June 29.

A team led by Inspector Yograj Dalal, under the supervision of ACP Saurabh A Narender, was formed to investigate the case.

“We found that the victim transferred Rs 10,000 in three installments into different bank accounts. One of the accounts, maintained with Axis Bank, belonged to a firm called ‘Damion Traders’. Its proprietor could not be traced, and it was later found to be a shell company. Technical analysis eventually led us to Mohit Soni, a resident of Haiderpur,” a police officer said.

The trail led investigators to an office in Shalimar Bagh, where Soni, 26, allegedly worked for the syndicate.

Soni was a mule-account holder — people who allowed their bank accounts to be used to receive and move fraud money — as well as one of the recruiters, police said.

Police raided the premises and arrested two people: Yogesh Kumar, 35, of Haiderpur; and Ranjit Damion Ekka, 41, of Shalimar Bagh, the two other facilitators.

Police said Ekka, a bike porter, was the ‘owner’ of Damion Traders, which was presented as a garment business but was little more than a front.

“Ekka had rented a shop and stocked it with a small quantity of garments to create the impression that it was a genuine business,” said a police officer.

“He opened a bank account in the firm’s name. The account, however, was actually used to receive proceeds of cyber fraud, which were then routed through multiple layers before reaching handlers based in the UAE and the UK,” the officer said.

Ekka allegedly received a commission depending on the amount credited to the account.

Police found that the syndicate had opened nine bank accounts in Ekka’s name across different banks using the same shop address.

The investigation then led police to Dishant Khanna, 36, a garment businessman from Shalimar Bagh, whom they have described as the alleged mastermind of the syndicate.

Police said Khanna allegedly bribed bank officials to facilitate opening of accounts for people selected by the gang.

Police subsequently arrested Mridul, 22, of Uttam Nagar, who allegedly managed the day-to-day operations of the network.

The sixth accused, Kundan Kumar, was arrested from Gurgaon. Kumar was posted as a manager at Suryoday Small Finance Bank in Gurgaon and allegedly accepted Rs 75,000 from the syndicate to facilitate the opening of mule accounts, police said.

All six arrests took place between July 8 and July 20.

A ‘bank account kit factory’

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh described the operation as a “complete bank account kit factory”.

He said the syndicate operated on a simple commercial model: they first identified financially vulnerable people to act as mule-account holders. The DCP said they then collected their identity documents. Shell companies were then created using those documents, after which bank accounts were opened rapidly with the alleged collusion of insiders.

The account kits were allegedly sold to fraud operators based in India and abroad.

According to investigators, each recruiter or facilitator handled around eight to ten mule-account holders. Their identification and verification are underway.

Police said recruiters and mule-account holders were paid relatively small amounts while bank staff allegedly received larger payments.

‘Bank insider’ network under scanner

Police said officials from Axis Bank, along with employees of around 15 other bank branches in Gurgaon and West Delhi, were questioned for allegedly facilitating the opening of bank accounts in exchange for cash kickbacks and insurance policies.

Digital evidence, including WhatsApp chats and cash-deposit receipts, allegedly showed direct payments made to bank staff to expedite the opening of bank accounts, the officer said.

Police also detained four employees, including a manager of an IndusInd Bank branch in Dwarka Sector 22, but they were released after verification.

The Central district police has asked banks to strengthen KYC verification and internal audit mechanisms, warning that any bank employee found colluding with such syndicate would face criminal prosecution.

248 ready-to-use bank account kits recovered

During searches, police recovered 248 account kits complete with internet banking credentials, debit cards, cheque books, and passbooks.

They also seized 38 SIM cards, 22 mobile phones, 28 forged company stamps, 55 debit and credit cards, Rs 1 lakh in cash and a Maruti Brezza.

In the 156 complaints examined so far, victims collectively reported losses of around Rs 20 crore. Authorities have frozen Rs 56 lakh and flagged transactions worth nearly Rs 37 crore for further investigation.

Accounts supplied to fraudsters abroad

Police said the network’s reach extended beyond India.

According to police, the accounts were supplied to fraud operators targeting victims in Dubai and the UK. Investigators said an India-based kingpin and the UAE-based mastermind remain absconding.

A Look Out Circular has been issued, and efforts are underway to trace them through international channels.