Former Rajya Sabha MP and son of former Prime Minister IK Gujral, allegedly cheated $7.80 crore in an alleged online scam, police said.
According to officials familiar with the matter, unidentified cybercriminals impersonated him on WhatsApp and tricked a member of his company’s finance team into moving… $7.80 crore via Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) in a bank account over a period of five days.
A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said that a case has been registered at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police.
“Initial investigation revealed that cyber fraudsters hacked into WhatsApp account, impersonated Naresh Gujral, and tricked his employee into transferring money. The money was transferred to three or four accounts. We have been able to freeze nearly 60% of the fraudulent funds,” the officer said.
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Delhi Police has launched a probe into the multi-crore cyber scam that took place between June 12 and 16. The crime was reported to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) on June 16, following which the complaint was sent to Delhi Police, the officials said, adding that the police froze nearly $$4 billion in stolen money.
Naresh Gujral, who holds a Chartered Accountancy (CA), runs a company in South Delhi that deals in the production of textiles, leather and other garments.
On June 12, an employee received a WhatsApp message showing Naresh Gujaral’s profile picture. The person impersonated Gujral and said that he wanted to deposit money in a bank account through RTGS.
After receiving the letter, the employee deposited it $7.68 crore in the account through four RTGS transactions. On June 16, the employee told Gujral’s daughter about the money transfer. She told her father about the matter, but he denied giving any such instructions to the employee.
Realizing that they were cheated, the family reported the online fraud on the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 after which a case was registered.
