Unknown cyber criminals defrauded Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s leading vaccine manufacturer, of Rs 1 crore. According to the authorities, the scammer allegedly identified himself as the company’s CEO, Adar Poonawalla, and sent a WhatsApp message to a director requesting that money be transferred to the accounts of several people. The communication was accepted by the director, and the funds were transferred. The police are looking into the matter.
Senior Inspector Pratap Manekar of Bund garden police station stated that a report was filed against unnamed individuals on Friday based on the complaint by the company’s finance manager Sagar Kittur. The incident occurred between 1.35 p.m. on September 7 and 2.30 p.m. on September 8.
Satish Deshpande, one of SII’s directors, received a WhatsApp message from a person who introduced himself as Adar Poonawalla, according to the report. He instructed Deshpande to transfer the funds to several bank accounts as soon as possible.
A total of 1,01,01,554 rupees was transferred online
Satish Deshpande assumed the communication was from the CEO, according to Police Inspector Mankar. Rs 1,01,01,554 was transferred online as a result of this. Later, it was proven that Adar Poonawalla had never sent such a WhatsApp message. He stated that the individuals engaged in this case are being tracked down.
According to the police, the report was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing handover of property), and 34 (common intention), as well as sections of the Information Technology Act. Efforts are being made to identify and apprehend the offenders, as well as the senders of WhatsApp messages and the owners of the bank accounts into which the money was deposited, the police said.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) is an Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceutical enterprise that is the world’s largest vaccine maker. SII has a factory near Pune. SII manufactures, among other vaccines, the anti-coronavirus vaccine Covishield. It is the most common Covid-19 vaccine used in India.
