Patna police bust cyber fraud ring that laundered ₹42.65 crore through fake accounts

Patna police have arrested two men for running an organized cyber fraud operation that routed ₹42.65 crore through fake company accounts, officials said. The arrests came after a months-long investigation that began with a single fraud complaint filed in July.

The Crime Branch identified the accused as Shakib Khan, a resident of Fraser Road in Patna, and Sandeep Kumar, who lives in Bandar Bagicha in the same city. Both men were taken into custody after investigators traced their role in facilitating cyber fraud through a network of fraudulent business accounts.

According to police, the accused opened current and corporate bank accounts in the names of fictitious firms and used them to receive and transfer money stolen through online betting scams, trading fraud, courier fraud, and virus-laden APK files. The operation was highly organized, with the duo creating shell companies using forged rent agreements, fake Udyam registrations, MSME certificates, and GST documents. They enrolled employees and acquaintances as nominal business owners and opened bank accounts in their names. Money from cyber fraud victims across the country was routed into these accounts, and the accused earned commissions on every transaction.

Investigators seized a range of electronic equipment from the accused, including a laptop, a POS machine, six mobile phones, six pen drives, a card reader, a digital signature device, chips, checkbooks, ATM cards, and QR codes.

The case was registered at Kotwali Dehat police station on 16 July after Dr Sumanesh Singh, a resident of Bhuwalpur Domipur, reported that ₹2.50 lakh had been fraudulently withdrawn from his bank account. The investigation revealed that multiple firms were registered using a single address and mobile number.

Preliminary inquiries have uncovered transactions worth approximately ₹42.65 crore across 109 company accounts linked to the accused. The Samanya portal, a coordination platform used by law enforcement agencies, shows that these accounts and mobile numbers are connected to more than 500 cyber crime complaints filed across India. Police are coordinating with cyber units in other states to expand the investigation.