Naresh Gujral, a former Rajya Sabha MP and son of former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, was allegedly defrauded of Rs 7.8 crore in a cybercrime operation in which fraudsters impersonated him on a messaging platform and manipulated an employee's phone records to facilitate fund transfers, TOI reported.
Police said they have so far frozen Rs 4 crore of the stolen amount and are continuing efforts to recover the remaining funds.
According to investigators, the fraud took place between June 12 and June 16 when cybercriminals allegedly created a fake account on a messaging platform using Gujral's display picture to pose as him.
The accused then contacted an employee of Gujral's company and sent urgent messages directing multiple RTGS transfers for what appeared to be legitimate business purposes.
Believing the instructions had been issued by Gujral, the employee carried out four separate transactions, transferring a total of Rs 7.8 crore.
Transactions cleared as routine business approvals
Police said the fraud initially escaped detection because the transfers appeared to be part of regular business operations.
During the process, the bank flagged the unusually large transactions and sought approval from the company's chief financial officer. The CFO reportedly authorised the transfers, assuming they had been approved by Gujral.
The fraud was discovered on June 16 after a company official became suspicious and contacted Gujral's daughter to verify the payments. She checked with her father and learned that he had not issued any such instructions, prompting the family to file a complaint.
Employee's phone allegedly compromised
Investigators said the gang first sent a malicious file to one of the company's employees, compromising the individual's mobile phone.
After gaining access to the device, the accused allegedly altered the contact information stored on the phone. They replaced Gujral's phone number in the employee's contact list with their own number while retaining his profile picture, making messages from the fraudulent account appear genuine.
Money routed through multiple bank accounts
Police said the stolen funds were transferred through four transactions into bank accounts located in different states.
Gujral, who runs a garment business, told The Times of India that his CFO became the victim of the fraud during his absence.
"I compliment the cybercrime team of Delhi Police for acting swiftly and recovering almost 70% of the amount. More recovery is expected in the coming days," he said.
Police urge verification of financial requests
Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinit Kumar advised people to independently verify requests involving money transfers or sensitive information.
"Anyone asked to transfer money or share sensitive information should verify the request by calling the person," he said.
