Mumbai: Nanded man arrested for renting out bank account in Rs 30 lakh scam

A 24yearold man from Nanded Kamlesh Navghare who allegedly rented out his bank account to a cyber fraud gang in exchange for a 15 per cent commission has been arrested by the North Cyber Police in connection with a Rs 30 lakh scam targeting a Goregaonbased businessmanNavghare was allegedly flown to Delhi by the gang accommodated at a lodge near a railway station and then abandoned after its members used his bank account to route the fraudulently obtained money The gang allegedly promised him a commission but transferred the entire amount to another account without paying him anythingHow it all beganAccording to North Cyber police sources Navghare came into contact with a Delhibased operative in Nanded in January this year The two exchanged phone numbers and remained in contact In August the operative allegedly arranged a flight ticket for Navghare to Delhi and booked accommodation for him at a lodge near a railway stationKamlesh Navghare the arrested accused PicBy Special ArrangementHowever the operative did not meet him personally Instead he allegedly sent another gang member to the lodge who took Navgharersquos mobile phone and used his bank account to receive the fraudulent amount of R30 lakh After the money was credited the gang member allegedly transferred it to another bank account using Navgharersquos phone and then disappeared leaving him stranded at the lodgeNavghare had allegedly been promised 15 per cent commission on the amount routed through his bank account Disappointed he eventually returned to Nanded emptyhandedHow it all beganA complaint was lodged by a 37yearold accountant working with a company based in Goregaon West According to his police complaint the accountant had been working with the company for 15 years and was familiar with its owner On August 27 2026 at around 130 am he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number The sender had allegedly used a display picture identical to that of his employerThe impersonator instructed him to transfer R30 lakh through RTGS from the companyrsquos HDFC Bank account to an IndusInd Bank account belonging to Patil Real Estate Services and Builders When the accountant attempted to call the sender there was no response The fraudster allegedly claimed to be in a meeting and instructed him to communicate through messages The accountant subsequently contacted his employer who reportedly acknowledged the request believing that the communication was genuine Following this the accountant transferred the amount to the beneficiary account provided by the fraudsterThe realisationThe fraud was exposed when the same WhatsApp number subsequently asked him to transfer another large amount to an ICICI Bank account in the name of Wavecroft Commerce Private Limited The companyrsquos chartered accountant contacted the owner to verify the fresh payment request following which the owner denied having issued any such instructions Realising that the company had been cheated the accountant and the companyrsquos administration team approached the cybercrime helpline 1930 and lodged a complaintKYC trailDuring the investigation the North Cyber police traced the money trail and obtained the KYC details linked to the beneficiary account which led them to Navghare in Nanded He was subsequently arrested and is currently in judicial custodySources said that an examination of Navgharersquos chat history allegedly revealed that he was in contact with multiple cyber fraud gangs and had travelled to different states to provide his bank accounts to fraudsters in exchange for commissionsInvestigators suspect that he had been involved in a wider network of bankaccount mule arrangements in which account holders allow cybercriminals to route money through their accounts for a percentagebased commissionThe investigation was carried out under the guidance of Cyber DCP Bajrang Bansode senior inspector Sunil Lokhande along with their team including PSI Amole Kamble and other staff