Big Bank Fraud! Bandhan Bank and Ujjivan Finance Employees Arrested for Fraud in 11 States

In a major breakthrough, police have arrested four cyber fraudsters, including a branch manager of a finance company and two employees of Bandhan Bank, for their involvement in a large-scale cyber crime racket. The gang had been operating across 11 states in India, using closed bank accounts to carry out illegal money transfers.

According to the police, the arrested individuals were part of a well-organized network. Here’s how the fraud worked:

• They targeted bank accounts that had been closed due to inactivity.
• With the help of insiders—bank employees—they changed the registered mobile numbers linked to these closed accounts.
• Once the mobile number was updated, the accounts became active again and were used to receive money obtained through cyber fraud.

Police revealed that the gang used this method to transfer a whopping ₹1.95 crore (₹1,95,53,570) through a single closed account belonging to a man named Aslam.

The people arrested so far include:

• Ankit Sharma – Branch Manager at Ujjivan Small Finance Company
• Jeetu – Employee at Bandhan Bank
• Shubham Kaushik – Employee at Bandhan Bank
• Balram – Another associate involved in the fraud

In addition, police are currently searching for three other suspects:

• Naval Saini
• Gautam
• Anujnay Pratap Singh

How the Fraud was discovered?

The scam was uncovered after Aslam, the owner of the affected bank account, filed a complaint with the Cyber Police Station on May 18. He stated that:

• He had opened an account in Bandhan Bank in 2022.
• The account remained unused, and by December 31, 2022, it was closed automatically due to no activity.
• Unknown persons later reactivated the account by linking it to a different mobile number and began using it for illegal financial transactions.

During the investigation, police recovered several bank-related items from the accused, including:

• Checkbooks
• Passbooks
• ATM Cards
• Other confidential banking materials from different banks

States Where the Gang Operated

The cyber crime network was not limited to one region. The gang was active in:

• Uttar Pradesh
• Punjab
• Haryana
• Karnataka
• West Bengal
• Andhra Pradesh
• Gujarat
• Kerala
• Maharashtra
• Tamil Nadu
• Telangana

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) – Crime, Naresh Kumar, said on Monday that the arrests were made based on the complaint and follow-up investigation. The police are continuing their efforts to track down the remaining accused.

This incident highlights how insider involvement in banks can be misused to commit large-scale cyber fraud. Customers are advised to stay alert and regularly monitor their bank accounts, even if they are inactive. Authorities are working hard to dismantle such networks and bring all involved to justice.