The Bengaluru Police said on October 15 it has arrested eight people, including a manager and three sales executives of Axis Bank, in connection with a Rs 97-crore fraud, promising hefty returns through stock investments.
The cyber-crime police have found that 254 cases linked to the scam have been registered across the country, the police said in a release. Fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs 97 crore were carried out through six bank accounts opened by the bank staff.
The police identified those arrested as Kishore Sahu, a bank manager with Axis Bank's Nagarabhavi branch in West Bengaluru and sales executives Manohar, Karthik and Rakesh.
Lakshmikanta, Raghuraj, Kengegowda and Mala CP, who held mule accounts, too, have been taken into custody, the police said.
When contacted, an Axis Bank spokesperson in a statement said: "The matter is currently under investigation and Axis Bank is fully cooperating with the investigating authorities to expedite the process."
The probe began after a Yelahanka resident in north Bengaluru filed a complaint in March. The man said he was added to a WhatsApp group that allegedly provided stock trading tips, promising returns 10 times the investment in a trading account, the police said, without naming the complainant.
The man initially invested Rs 50,000 and received WhatsApp messages confirming big gains. He ended up “investing” Rs 1.5 crore by June, the complaint said.
The alleged scammers sent doctored screenshots showing that the trading account had grown to Rs 28 crore. The man got suspicious when they demanded a “server management fee” of Rs 75 lakh to withdraw the funds. He complained to the Cyber Crime Police.
The probe led police to multiple bank accounts linked to the accused. Two current accounts were traced to an Axis Bank branch in Nagarabhavi. The account holders, from Chikkamagaluru, had not provided documents in support of their residency or business activities.
Another four accounts were opened under similar suspicious circumstances. A sum of Rs 97 crore was transacted through these six accounts in total, police said.
The probe led the police to the Axis Bank manager and the three sales executives, who were arrested on September 26. A court remanded them to 12-day police custody.
During interrogation, they named six account holders from Chikkamagaluru. Four of them, including a woman, were arrested on September 29.
The bank manager and the sales executives are now in judicial custody, the police said.
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As many as 254 cases have been registered across the country in connection with the scam and they were looking for nine more suspects, some of whom could be abroad, the police said.
The Reserve Bank of India as well as the Securities and Exchange Board of India have been warning citizens about criminals promising hefty returns. They have also asked people to seek market advice only from registered professionals as frauds through messaging apps continue to grow.
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