Esther Salifu
In a significant breakthrough, Noida Police have dismantled a sophisticated cybercrime syndicate responsible for defrauding Nainital Bank of ₹16.5 crore. The operation resulted in the arrest of four individuals, including a Nigerian national, and the seizure of substantial evidence.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Umealakei Emeka (53), a Nigerian national, Mohammed Shahvez (26), Amit Gupta (28), and Deepak Gupta (39). Law enforcement officials recovered ₹50,000 in cash, eight chequebooks, seven mobile phones, one laptop, two passports, and MDMA tablets valued at approximately ₹20 lakh from the suspects.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ram Badan Singh revealed that the primary accused, Mohammed Shahvez, facilitated the fraud by providing bank account details of unsuspecting individuals at Nainital Bank. The syndicate allegedly hacked into the bank’s server, transferring the misappropriated funds into 84 different accounts.
The fraudulent activity came to light when Sumit Srivastava, the bank’s IT manager, noticed discrepancies during a routine reconciliation of the bank’s balance sheet. An FIR was subsequently registered at the Sector 36 Cyber Crime Police Station, and assistance was sought from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) to investigate the breach.
Authorities have frozen assets worth ₹4.10 crore linked to the fraud. Investigations are ongoing to apprehend other individuals involved in the operation and to recover the remaining funds.
