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Chandigarh: Fraudster Posing as MD Triggers ₹2 Crore Transfer from Manimajra Firm
A Manimajra-based pharmaceutical company lost ₹1.96 crore after a fraudster impersonated its managing director on WhatsApp and misled an accounts officer into transferring funds to a fake beneficiary. The transfer, initiated on April 15, targeted a Noida-based account linked to BTO Stepmile Realty Private Limited, and authorities are pursuing the case with no arrests yet. Banks were alerted and efforts were made to freeze the funds, but they had already moved to multiple accounts.
Why It Matters
The incident underscores the risk of social engineering and impersonation in financial transactions, highlighting the need for strict verification and internal controls to prevent similar frauds. It also shows the role of cybercrime units in investigating such cases and pursuing asset freezes.
Timeline
3 Events
Cybercrime case registered; no arrests yet
April 19, 2026
A case under sections 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at the cyber crime police station, Chandigarh. As of the report, no arrests have been made.
Accounts officer reports transfer; banks alerted to freeze funds
April 15, 2026
Around 1:35 pm, the chief financial officer Sanjeev Agrawal was informed by the accounts officer that ₹1.96 crore had been transferred to the fake MD's account. The company then approached Punjab National Bank, where the transaction originated, and contacted IndusInd Bank to freeze the beneficiary account. Officials reportedly informed them that the funds had already been transferred to multiple other accounts.
WhatsApp impersonation leads to transfer of ₹1.96 crore
April 15, 2026
On April 15, 2026, a WhatsApp message purportedly from Syschem India Ltd's managing director Rajan Jain instructed the accounts officer to transfer ₹1.96 crore to a bank account under the beneficiary name: BTO Stepmile Realty Private Limited, with the bank branch in Sector 12, Noida. The message arrived at 10:12 am and the funds were transferred via NEFT around 10:45 am. The display name and picture of the MD were used to make the message appear authentic, but the account was fake.