Four arrested for fraud of Rs 40 crore

Bengaluru: In a major bust, the cyber crime police of the city’s north-east division recently arrested four people for running an online part-time job scam, police officials said on Tuesday. The arrests unearthed 305 cases across the country in which an estimated Rs 40 crore were defrauded from victims.
Those arrested include Syed Yunus Fazil alias Mudassir bin Syed Aijaz Pasha, 31; Mohammad Kalimullah, 35; Syed Arbaaz, 24; and Ibrahim Kurnool, 36. Pasha was a resident of Sidlaghatta in Chikkaballapur and lived in RT Nagar, Bengaluru. Kalimullah and Arbaaz were residents of Bharati Nagar and Kaveri Nagar respectively. Kurnool, who was a resident of Bagalkot, lived in Fraser Town.

A city police source said the gang has been operating since May this year. He said Pasha, who is a Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) graduate, worked in the banking sector and was into silk trading; SSLC pass Kaleemullah worked at a medical shop and was an autorickshaw driver; Arbaaz studied till class 9 and was an autorickshaw driver; And Kurnool was an ITI diploma holder and worked in Just Dial and sold SIM cards.

“Another person is suspected to be involved in the gang in Mumbai,” a police officer told DH. He said that he has not been identified yet. “We are verifying on a case-by-case basis to know the number of cases in the city.”

Freeze 30 mule accounts

During the investigation, cyber crime investigators found that the suspects had operated 30 mule accounts to launder the proceeds of crime. Mule accounts are bank accounts that receive funds from a third party, which are then transferred to someone else.

Police said all 30 accounts have been frozen.

“The suspects paid about Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 to some people to open bank accounts to be used as mules,” said the source quoted earlier.

Police seized four mobile phones, two bank passbooks, six debit cards and SIM cards, a biometric scanner and two company seals from the suspects.