A major cyber fraud has come to light involving the INOX Group, where more than ₹10.40 crore was transferred from the company’s account after a senior accounts executive received WhatsApp messages from a person posing as Executive Director Siddharth Jain.
The fraud was discovered after Girish Amin, Deputy General Manager in the company’s accounts department, contacted Jain through official channels to ask for invoices linked to the transactions. Jain informed him that he had never given any such instructions, revealing that someone had been using his name and photograph to deceive the company.
Fraud continued for nearly two weeks
According to the complaint, the first WhatsApp message arrived on 3rd June from an unknown mobile number. The sender, using Siddharth Jain’s photo and impersonating him, introduced the number as a “very personal number” and asked Amin not to share it with anyone.
The WhatsApp profile displayed Siddharth Jain’s photograph, which convinced Amin that he was communicating with the company’s executive director. The sender also said he was entering a very urgent meeting and requested that no one call him, adding that he would get back later.
Soon after, the person shared bank account details and instructed Amin to transfer ₹46.50 lakh. Believing the request to be genuine, Amin processed the payment from the company’s bank account.
Over the following days, similar instructions continued to arrive through WhatsApp. Between 3rd June and 15th June, Amin carried out 63 separate transactions to multiple bank accounts provided by the sender. The total amount transferred reached ₹10,40,71,924.
Complaint filed after scam uncovered
After realising he had been cheated, Amin approached the 1930 cybercrime helpline and filed a police complaint. He also submitted screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations as evidence.
A senior Mumbai Police officer confirmed that the complaint had been received at the South Cyber Police Station and that an FIR was being registered. Amin, who has worked with the INOX Group for 31 years, declined to comment on the matter.
The INOX Group has business interests in industrial gases and operates one of the country’s major cinema chains.
Delhi police action leads to arrests
While Mumbai Police began investigating the case, Delhi Police arrested four people linked to the movement of the money.
The breakthrough came on Tuesday when officials from the Jasola branch of IDFC FIRST Bank informed police that two men had arrived to withdraw ₹8 lakh in cash.
The alert was possible because of Operation CyHawk, a special drive under which banks in the district had been asked to report suspicious transactions and unusual cash withdrawals.
A team from Sarita Vihar Police Station immediately reached the bank and detained the two men, identified as Vikash and Vansh.
Bank accounts rented out for commission
During questioning, Vikash and Vansh told investigators that they had allowed their bank accounts to be used for routing money in return for commissions. They were promised ₹30,000 and ₹20,000 respectively for providing access to their accounts.
Based on information gathered from them, police set up a trap and later arrested two more suspects, Faiyaz Alam and Amit, from Madanpur Khadar in Delhi.
According to police, Faiyaz disclosed during questioning that he had been promised a two per cent commission by another person, who is currently absconding, for arranging bank accounts that could be used to move money obtained through cyber fraud.
Investigation continues
Investigators are now tracking the flow of funds and searching for the mastermind behind the WhatsApp impersonation scheme. Police are also examining the beneficiary accounts that received the money as part of the fraud network.
