Mumbai Lawyer Among Six Arrested in Rs 9.88 Crore Cyber Fraud; Police Uncover Network of Over 1,000 Bank Accounts:

A well-known lawyer, Mukesh Mishra, 41, who handles cybercrime cases in the Bombay and Delhi High Courts, was arrested along with five others for allegedly running an interstate cybercrime racket. The gang was caught last week for stealing Rs 9.88 crore from a mill owner's bank account through online transactions in July. Mishra allegedly worked as a cyber consultant for the gang and used his knowledge of cybercrime to help the accused carry out the fraud. Many of the accused had worked in the banking sector for at least seven years.

Police suspect that the gang used a technique called SIM swapping to commit the fraud. This method involves taking control of a victim's mobile number to receive messages and one-time passwords (OTPs). Unlike the usual scams linked to Jamtara, the victim did not share an OTP or click on any suspicious links. Police also suspect that the stolen money was transferred through hawala channels, which are informal money transfer networks. They have asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to help investigate the case.

The fraud took place between July 4 and July 6, when the gang allegedly transferred Rs 9.88 crore through RTGS bank transactions from the account of a mill owner living in Wadhoda, in rural Nagpur. The victim reported the fraud to the cyber police, who registered a case on July 8. Because the complaint was made quickly, police managed to freeze and recover Rs 4.21 crore. This amount is now being transferred back to the victim's bank account.

By analysing suspicious bank accounts and transactions linked to fintech companies, investigators traced the accused to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi. According to rural Superintendent of Police Harssh Poddar, the gang allegedly used several shell companies to move money between different bank accounts. The network reportedly used more than 1,000 bank accounts to transfer money through fintech companies and payment gateways before withdrawing it in cash or sending it through hawala channels.

The six arrested people include lawyer Mukesh Mishra, who runs a law firm in Mumbai, along with Hanuman Kumar Ram, 26, Ravikumar Yadav, 24, Azim Rafique Mithani, 26, Rakesh Singh, 44, and Ankur Goswami, 30. The accused are from Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Thane and Jharkhand. Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Mhaske said that more arrests are likely. The case was investigated jointly by the local crime branch, cybercrime police and Wadhoda police.

Police also suspect that some of the stolen money was used to buy gold at different locations in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh. Investigators are examining financial records to understand each accused person's role and trace the remaining money. They are also checking bank accounts, digital records and virtual wallets linked to several fintech companies.

The investigation has also revealed that one of the accused had previously worked at a company based in Indore that was allegedly involved in a fraud worth around Rs 3,400 crore, police said. An initial audit of bank accounts revealed possible links to other victims, leading investigators to expand the probe. Police are also looking into the possible involvement of hawala operators and angadia networks, which are traditional systems used to transfer money and valuables, in Mumbai and Delhi.