SBI manager and associates arrested in ₹175 crore fraud case in Hyderabad

In a major crackdown on financial crime, the manager of a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Hyderabad and his associates have been arrested in connection with a Rs. 175 crore fraud case. The arrests were made by officers from the Cybersecurity Bureau Headquarters in Hyderabad after an extensive investigation.

The manager, Madhu Babu Gali, 49, who was in charge of the SBI branch in the Shamsheer Gunj area, allegedly colluded with fraudsters to facilitate the opening of current accounts, assist in the withdrawal of funds, and orchestrate the diversion of large sums of money. In exchange for his role, Gali reportedly received commissions. Along with him, a gym trainer named Upadhya Sandeep Sharma, 34, has also been arrested. The fraud came to light when the Cybersecurity Bureau's data analysis team detected numerous complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) against six bank accounts linked to the SBI Shamsheer Gunj branch. The investigation revealed that these accounts were involved in massive transactions totaling Rs. 175 crore over a short period of two months—March and April 2024.

The main orchestrator of the fraud, believed to be operating from Dubai, along with his five associates, allegedly lured poor individuals into opening bank accounts. These accounts were then used for cybercrimes and hawala operations. The account holders were paid commissions for their participation.

On August 24, the Cybersecurity Bureau arrested two key players, Mohammed Shoeb Tauqeer and Mahmood Bin Ahmed Bawazir, for their involvement in the scam. Shoeb was reportedly responsible for opening bank accounts and preparing the necessary documentation. After the accounts were opened, the signatures of the account holders were taken on cheques, which were then held by one of the associates. Some of the money was also funneled to Dubai through cryptocurrency.

Following the instructions of the main fraudster, Shoeb and others convinced impoverished individuals to open six current accounts at the SBI Shamsheer Gunj branch in February 2024. By March and April, these accounts had been used for significant transactions, leading to the total fraud amount of approximately Rs. 175 crore.