Ahmedabad, Sep 22 — A company employee in Gujarat transferred Rs three crore from his employer’s corporate bank account after fraudsters allegedly impersonated his boss on WhatsApp. Still, a joint intervention by the Ahmedabad Rural Police helped freeze Rs 2.94 crore within four to five hours, police said.

Of the frozen amount, Rs 2.88 crore has been returned to the complainant through a court order, while Rs six lakh remains to be recovered, DySP Tapansinh Dodia said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on August 18 at 'Pure and Cure', a pharmaceutical company in the Changodar police station limits.

Hardik Patel, an accountant at the company, received WhatsApp messages in the morning from an unknown number allegedly impersonating his superior.

According to Dodia, the WhatsApp account used the boss’s photograph and profile details, and the communication style also matched that of Patel’s actual superior.

“The number was unknown, but the WhatsApp display picture and the profile details were exactly similar to those of his boss. The way of speaking and the language used were also similar, because of which Hardikbhai believed that he was speaking to his boss,” Dodia said.

The impersonator then asked Patel to carry out a financial transaction worth Rs three crore. Believing the request was genuine, Patel transferred the money from the company’s account.

Immediately after completing the transaction, Patel called his actual boss and informed him that the payment had been made. During that conversation, he realised he had fallen victim to cyber fraud.

The police were informed immediately, following which Patel was brought to the police station and action was initiated to freeze the accounts involved in the transaction.

“The total transaction was of Rs three crore. Out of this, Rs 2.94 crore was frozen, and out of the frozen amount, Rs 2.88 crore was returned to the complainant after obtaining a court order,” Dodia said.

He added that the process of recovering the remaining amount and returning it to the complainant is continuing.

The investigation into the money trail showed that the initial Rs three crore was transferred to a primary account in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, belonging to a person identified as Gokul Guruwardhan.

From that account, two transactions of Rs six lakh each, totalling Rs 12 lakh, were made to two other accounts.

One was an account in Madhya Pradesh belonging to a person identified as Updesh Yadav, while the other belonged to a person in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dodia said police are investigating whether the Guntur account was a mule account used by fraudsters or whether the account holder himself was involved in the crime.

“This angle is under investigation. Our team has gone to another state to investigate. Only after obtaining detailed information about the account can it be established whether it is a mule account or whether the account holder himself is an accused,” he said.

He said investigators would examine the account holder's complete banking history and transactions before concluding.

“The entire transaction trail is being investigated. We will check whether such a large amount had previously come into the bank account, whether the transactions were suspicious and what the links are. Once our team investigates Gokul Guruwardhan in the other state, it will become clear whether he is involved, whether it is a mule account or whether there is another link,” Dodia said.

Police said they froze the entire amount the same day, but recovery required a court order. Dodia said the Rs 2.88 crore was refunded after completing the court procedure.

“The entire amount was frozen on the same day, but for recovery we have to obtain an order from the court. After obtaining the court order, we got the amount refunded,” he said.

According to police, Rs six lakh is still pending in an SBI account because of the bank’s processing procedure.

Dodia said the remaining amount was expected to be recovered and returned to the complainant after the necessary banking process.

The police said they froze the accounts within about four to five hours of the fraud being reported. "The quick response was possible because the Changodar police station and the LCB Cyber Cell acted jointly after receiving information about the transaction," he said.

Explaining why the complainant did not immediately find the Rs three crore transaction suspicious, Dodia said Pure and Cure regularly procures raw APIs and other raw materials, and such high-value transactions are part of the company’s business.

“Generally, the company procures raw APIs and raw materials, and such large transactions through Hardikbhai take place in the normal course of their business. Therefore, it did not appear suspicious to him that such a large transaction was being made. The account was also a corporate account, so a transaction of Rs three crore could take place at one go,” he said.

Dodia said the identity and involvement of the persons whose accounts received the money would be established only after their banking records and transactions are examined.

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