[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [CRIME]

4 clusters · 7 sources · 20 days · First seen · Last updated

Financial crime investigations in Odisha

Overview

Police in Odisha have dismantled several criminal operations involving financial fraud and the use of mule bank accounts.

In Bhubaneswar, authorities arrested three individuals, including a private bank field agent, for allegedly operating a fake entity named ‘PP Manpower Supply and Hospitality Services’. This group reportedly used the company to open approximately 25 mule accounts to route funds for cyber fraudsters in cities such as Delhi and Kolkata. Investigators identified suspicious transactions totaling between ₹30–35 lakh, though the alleged mastermind, Krushnachandra Behera, remains at large.

In Balangir, the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police dismantled a syndicate that provided forged bank accounts, SIM cards, and credentials to facilitate scams involving digital arrests, fake investment schemes, and OLX fraud. Four individuals were apprehended following alerts from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, with transactions exceeding ₹35 lakh identified.

Further investigations in Balangir led to the arrest of four individuals—Prakash Sharma, Sunny Barve, Prasanna Kumar Nag, and Jubaraj Deep—for their roles in an organized investment fraud network. This group allegedly used foreign-routed WhatsApp Business virtual numbers from the Philippines to coordinate operations and share bank credentials. The network reportedly layered cheated money through multiple business-entity bank accounts before withdrawing funds in cash. Authorities seized mobile phones, cheque books, passbooks, and debit cards as they work to identify the ultimate beneficiaries.

These developments follow previous investigations into a network that used country liquor, known as ‘Handia’, to manipulate senior citizens and retired bank employees into opening mule accounts, as well as a staged robbery in Jharsuguda involving a cash management executive.

Entities

Hari Shankar Reddy Renati · Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre · Radiant Cash Management Services Ltd. · Income Tax Department · Gundala Reddy Raghavendra

Timeline

  1. about 13 hours ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources
    Odisha police arrest four in international cybercrime network bust

    Odisha police arrested four people for operating a cybercrime network that used Philippines-routed WhatsApp numbers and mule accounts to facilitate investment fraud.

  2. 4 days ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources
    Odisha police bust cyber mule account syndicates

    Police in Odisha have busted multiple cybercrime syndicates using mule bank accounts to launder over ₹65 lakh in fraudulent funds from various online scams.

  3. 20 days ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources
    Jharsuguda police arrest four for staging fake robbery to siphon cash

    Four people, including a cash management executive, were arrested in Odisha for staging a fake robbery to steal over Rs 5 lakh to fund online gambling debts.

  4. 20 days ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources
    Odisha police bust cyber fraud network using liquor to open mule accounts

    Odisha police busted a cyber fraud chain that used ‘Handia’ liquor to trick individuals into opening bank mule accounts for laundering stolen money.

Sources

kalingatv.com · nationalcybersecurity.com · newindianexpress.com · odishabytes.com · orissapost.com · pragativadi.com · siasat.com

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history