Mumbai Police arrested 3 people for a fake bank account scam linked to cyber fraud and money laundering. The accused opened bank accounts in the names of many people, mostly men. He told them that they would get ₹1,500 every month under the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’, which is actually meant only for women.
They collected documents like Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, Passbooks, SIM cards etc. Opened bank accounts using these documents collected from poor and gullible individuals, mainly in slum areas. These accounts were then sold to cyber fraudsters for illegal activities. Around 2,500 bank accounts were opened this way, police said.
Crores of rupees were moved through these accounts, which were used for many illegal activities like:
– Cyber fraud
– Money laundering
– Black money conversion
– Illegal trading
The scam came to light after a labourer from Nehru Nagar slum (Vile Parle) filed a police complaint. After investigation, the police arrested Avinash Kamble (25) and two more people. Police have frozen over 100 active bank accounts involved in the scam and ₹19,43,779 has been seized from these accounts so far. Accused Avinash Kamble, said that he would offer to help people open bank accounts and charge them ₹1,000 for the service. He sold these accounts later for ₹4,000 each.
Police said most victims were men who were misled with the false promise of government money. The public is advised to be careful and not fall for fake schemes or cyber fraudsters.