AHMEDABAD: Gujarat’s Surat City Cyber Crime Cell has arrested a 38-year-old man who allegedly supplied bank accounts to Dubai-based cyber fraud syndicates and facilitated online task scams and forged digital signature frauds involving crores of rupees.
The accused, who had been evading arrest for three years, was detained at Mumbai International Airport after arriving from Dubai following a Look-Out Circular issued against him.
The arrested accused has been identified as Mohammad Sadiq Tambuwala, a resident of Zhal Apartment in Adajan Patiya, Rander Road, Surat. Police said he allegedly operated a network of bank accounts and dummy companies under the guise of employment, providing financial channels to international cybercrime syndicates in exchange for commissions.
According to investigators, Tambuwala was wanted in two separate fraud cases registered with Surat Cyber Crime Police in 2023. In the first case, cybercriminals allegedly targeted a complainant through a Telegram link, ‘mbbz4.cc’, promising attractive commissions for completing online tasks, including subscribing to YouTube channels.
After gaining the victim’s trust, the fraudsters lured him into investing larger amounts through prepaid tasks. Consequently, the complainant transferred Rs 30.20 lakh in instalments to multiple bank accounts. Although the accused initially returned Rs 30,450 as commission, they allegedly siphoned off the remaining Rs 29.89 lakh.
In the second case, the accused allegedly forged documents and created a fake Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) in the name of a complainant’s firm to access the Centre’s ICEGATE portal. Using a fabricated email ID and mobile number, they fraudulently accessed the firm’s Import-Export Code (IEC) and transferred four government-issued e-scrips worth Rs 54.25 lakh out of seven valued at Rs 95.42 lakh under the RoSCTL export scheme.
During interrogation, police uncovered the alleged scale of Tambuwala’s financial network. He reportedly procured bank accounts from local associates in Surat on commission and handed them over to Dubai-based cyber fraud operators, retaining approximately 20,115 Dirhams, equivalent to nearly Rs 5 lakh, as commission.
Investigators further found that one bank account linked to the online task scam recorded transactions worth Rs 5.17 crore in just two days, May 11 and 12, 2023. A verification through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) reportedly linked the account to 49 complaints from different states, involving fraudulent deposits of Rs 86.34 lakh.
Police also found that Tambuwala, along with previously arrested accused Takshal Lungiwala of Salabatpura, allegedly floated a bogus company and obtained a fake DSC. He subsequently provided its IEC and login credentials to a Dubai-based wanted accused for Rs 50,000, enabling the fraudulent transfer of government e-scrips worth Rs 25.36 lakh.
Police said Kunal Sendhane of Dindoli and Takshal Lungiwala have already been arrested in connection with the case. With Tambuwala now in custody, the Cyber Crime Cell has secured his remand and intensified its probe to trace the remaining members of the international network, identify other fraudulent bank accounts and uncover the full extent of the alleged financial transactions.