Over Rs 22 Cr Siphoned From TN Panchayat Bank Accounts, Cyber Fraud Syndicate Suspected
The cyber criminals suspected to be from Nigeria gained access to the specialised transaction portal developed in collaboration with a private banking institution.
Chennai: The Chennai Central Crime Branch’s Cyber Crime wing has taken up the investigation of a cyber fraud diverting Rs. 22.1 crore of funds from the Tamil Nadu rural development department to unknown bank accounts.
The funds were allocated to the rural development department under the 15th Finance Commission and earmarked for infrastructure development projects in rural areas. The cyber criminals suspected to be from Nigeria gained access to the specialised transaction portal developed in collaboration with a private banking institution.
The largest amount of Rs.14 crore was diverted from the account linked to the Mandapam panchayat union in Ramanathapuram, while Rs. 3.1 crore from the Nagapattinam panchayat union and Rs. 5 crore from Dharapuram panchayat union.
The police suspect that the funds credited to the treasury were transferred to multiple mule bank accounts within two hours. Police are investigating how the cyber criminals accessed the transaction portal and if any bank personnel were involved in the fraud or if the login credentials of any official were compromised.
The police are carrying out an investigation with the department officials and considering methods to retrieve the money by freezing the beneficiary bank accounts. The police are working to trace their IP addresses used to execute the fraudulent transactions.