In a startling case of cybercrime, Thane Police have registered an FIR against a group of individuals who allegedly hacked into a payment gateway service provider’s account and orchestrated a massive heist, siphoning off funds worth ₹16,180 crore. The heist was executed over an extended period and involved transfers from different bank accounts, according to Thane Police.
The incident came to light when a complaint was lodged regarding the hacking of the company’s account and a theft of ₹25 crore. However, as the police initiated their investigation, they uncovered the extensive robbery, amounting to ₹16,180 crore. No arrests have been made in connection with this ₹16,180 crore heist as of now.
The FIR has been registered against several individuals, including Sanjay Singh, Amol Andale (also known as Aman), Kedar (also known as Sameer Dighe), Jitendra Pandey, and another unidentified person. They face charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 467, 468 (forgery), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (common intention), in addition to provisions of the Information Technology Act.
Notably, one of the accused, Jitendra Pandey, had prior experience working with banks as a relationship and sales manager for approximately 8-10 years. This background raises concerns about the potential insider knowledge that may have been leveraged in the cybercrime.
The Thane Police suspect that there may be more individuals involved in this cybercrime racket and that it might have affected numerous companies and individuals over several years. The modus operandi appears to involve dispersing funds across thousands of bank accounts, facilitating money transfers into multiple other accounts, making it challenging to track and recover the stolen funds.
The investigation team has reportedly seized counterfeit documents from the suspects, adding a layer of complexity to the case. Thane Police are actively conducting their investigation into this massive heist, aiming to uncover the full extent of the cybercrime and bring those responsible to justice.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the growing sophistication of cybercriminals and the need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect financial institutions and payment gateway service providers from such attacks.
