Karnataka High Court Upholds FIR in Major Cyber Fraud Case Involving Fake SBI Website
The Karnataka High Court has firmly rejected petitions seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) and related legal proceedings against four individuals accused of orchestrating a sophisticated cyber fraud scheme. The case, which involves allegations of cheating and cybercrime, centers on a businessman from Gadag who was duped out of approximately Rs 7.2 crore.
Justice Nagaprasanna Compares Case to a Crime Thriller
In a notable observation, Justice M Nagaprasanna described the case as akin to a crime thriller or potboiler, emphasizing its complexity and severity. The order highlights the accused's alleged creation of a fake State Bank of India website, hacking of the actual bank website, and manipulation of OTPs to deceive the complainant.
The accused include K Balajee alias Balaji Sha and Silmia alias Silmya Fathima, both from Tamil Nadu; Seba Jeevan Sebaratnam, a resident of Carshalton, Surrey, UK, currently living in Bengaluru; and Vinay Kumar Agarwal of Bengaluru. They had challenged the FIR and proceedings initiated by Bengaluru police, arguing that the matter was purely civil and citing inordinate delay in complaint registration.
Details of the Fraudulent Scheme
The complainant, Vinayak Kabadi, sought loans to establish a sugar factory. In October 2017, he visited the Celestial Tiles showroom in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, owned by Vinay Agarwal. Agarwal and Silmia's husband, Niyaz, assured him they could arrange a loan of Rs 225 crore and directed him to meet SBI officials at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Chennai.
There, Niyaz and Silmia introduced Kabadi to the other accused, who promised the loan in exchange for a 7% commission. After agreeing, documents were exchanged, and an email transaction alert from the website sbicf.co.in showed credits of Rs 115 crore and Rs 110 crore to his SBI account, opened on January 4, 2018. Another email credited Rs 49 lakh, making the total displayed balance Rs 225,49,00,000.
Believing the funds were real, Kabadi paid about Rs 7.2 crore, half of the commission amount. However, upon physically checking his account at SBI, he discovered the fraud and filed a complaint on July 16, 2022.
Court's Firm Stance Against Cybercrime
Justice Nagaprasanna, after reviewing the evidence, pointed out that the accused created a fake SBI website, hacked the bank's site to generate OTPs, and manipulated account balances to show fake credits. This elaborate scheme led to the complainant paying the commission under false pretenses.
The court strongly dismissed the petitions, stating, "To quash the proceedings at this stage would be to smother a serious prosecution in its infancy and to grant immunity where proceedings cry out for a full-blown trial. This court thus finds these petitions meritless." This decision underscores the judiciary's commitment to addressing cybercrimes and ensuring justice in complex fraud cases.
