Six arrested, including a private insurance company relationship manager, for diverting ₹4 crore of insurance money
In Hyderabad, an NRI discovered that ₹76 lakh of his insurance policy money had been withdrawn, and the fraudsters had spent ₹56 lakh on gold from a jewelry shop in Mehdipatnam.
The cybercrime unit of Rachakonda police arrested six individuals, including a relationship manager from a private insurance company, for diverting the NRI’s insurance policy money into a fake bank account. The investigators found that the gang had defrauded several policyholders and purchased gold biscuits with the illicit money, amounting to ₹4 crore in total.
The Fraud Operation
The Rachakonda police revealed that the gang had committed 19 offenses since 2019. Among the arrested were relationship manager K Ranga Sai Harsha, graphics designer D Akshay Kumar, food delivery boy Mohammed Yaseen Ahmed, cab driver M Prasanth Sai, V Achyuth, and A Prakash Reddy. Property worth ₹60 lakh was recovered from them.
Impersonation and Fraudulent Bank Accounts
Rachakonda commissioner of police DS Chauhan said, “After going into the depth of the case, we found that someone sent an email to the insurance company, impersonating the NRI and requesting for closure of the policy before its maturity. Finally, we found that it was the relationship manager Sai Harsha, who is behind the fraud.”
The fraud came to light when the NRI, K Kishore Kumar, visited the insurance company’s office to update his address against his unit linked insurance policy (ULIP). The staff informed him that ₹76 lakh against the said policy had already been withdrawn on his request. The policy was closed before its maturity, and the money was credited into Kishore’s bank account in South Indian Bank.
Kishore lodged a complaint with the Rachakonda cyber crime police, who discovered that someone had fraudulently opened a bank account with a forged PAN card using Kishore’s name and his original PAN. The fraudsters credited the money into the fake account.
Inside Access to High-Value Customer Details
Chauhan revealed that Harsha had access to high-value customers’ details. Harsha would send an email to the insurance company requesting to withdraw the policy money before its maturity. He would also share the bank account number to which the policy money could be credited. Prior to this, Harsha would open the bank account in the name of policyholders by submitting fraudulent PAN cards and driving licenses.
Recovered Items
The police recovered 14 fake PAN cards, one fake Aadhaar card, one fake voter ID, 10 fake driving licenses, 10 passbooks, 376 grams of gold, an airgun, and ₹6 lakh in cash from the gang.
This massive insurance fraud serves as a cautionary tale for the general public and insurance companies, emphasizing the need for stringent security measures and thorough verification processes to protect policyholders and their hard-earned money.