Two held for running nine ghost firms, 55 bank accounts used in cyber frauds

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has busted a racket involving nine “ghost companies” allegedly floated to open bank accounts in fictitious names and route money siphoned off through cyber frauds. Two men have been arrested, and investigators have identified at least 55 bank accounts through which crores of rupees were allegedly funnelled.

Acting on a tip-off, a Crime Branch team on Wednesday raided an office in the Masjid Bunder area of south Mumbai and detained two suspects. During the search, police recovered Aadhaar and PAN cards belonging to multiple individuals from the premises.

Further probe revealed that nine companies had been created online using documents of these individuals. In the names of these companies, 55 bank accounts were opened across various banks. On verification, investigators found that crores had been moved through these accounts, an officer said.