Former MP falls prey to cyber fraud — How scammers tricked Naresh Gujral's CFO, duped him to transfer ₹7.8 crore
Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral is making headlines since he fell prey to cyber fraud. Cyber fraudsters allegedly duped the former MP of ₹7.8 crore
Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral is making headlines since he fell prey to cyber fraud. Cyber fraudsters allegedly duped the former MP of ₹7.8 crore. The scammers used a messaging app to operate their scheme and trick the company's chief financial officer. By impersonating the 78-year-old, son of India's 12th prime minister late I K Gujral, the fraudsters cleverly deceived one of his employees, PTI reported. According to the police statement on Thursday, the scammers allegedly created an account on an online messaging platform using former MP's display picture to deceive his employees. Between 12 and 16 June, they sent messages directing one of his employees to transfer funds via Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) to multiple bank accounts.
The scammers made it seem like that the transaction was for urgent business-related purposes as they targeted the employee who had been given financial access by Naresh Gujral. Also Read | Airbnb leases 46,000 sq ft for GCC in DLF Cyber City Gurugram The employee blindsided by the scheme followed the instructions believing them to be legitimate. Over the course of four days, the employee executed four separate RTGS transactions which resulted in a loss of ₹7.8 crore, the police informed PTI. Naresh Gujral's daughter learns about suspicious transactions Ultimately, when Naresh Gujral's daughter Diksha noticed suspicious transactions from the company's account, she verified the situation with her father and uncovered the fraud.
It was on June 16, that the fraud came to the knowledge of Diksha Gujral after she learnt that he had never issued any directions for transfer for money to any account. She contacted the cybercrime helpline and helped authorities freeze a large portion of the stolen funds. On the same day, Naresh Gujral filed a police complaint in the matter. "On the complaint of Naresh Gujral, an FIR has been registered on 16.06.2026. Immediate further action was taken, and ₹4.28 crore out of the total defrauded amount of ₹7.68 crore has been marked as a lien/hold in various banks. Efforts are being made to apprehend the persons involved in the fraud," PTI quoted a senior police officer as saying.
According to investigators, the money was first routed into four bank accounts in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Around ₹1 crore and ₹2 crore was transferred to each of these accounts. In an apparent attempt to conceal the money trail, the funds were subsequently distributed to around 30 to 40 accounts before being moved through multiple additional mule accounts. As per the report, cyber investigators are tracking the movement of funds and identifying the beneficiaries of the transactions. Probe to trace the remaining funds and arrest those involved in the cyber fraud is underway.
The BriefWire