Online Gaming Scam: CBI Chargesheets Delhi Bank Officer Over Rs 55-Crore Embezzlement

The investigation into the scam revealed that the accused sanctioned and opened 48 Mudra loan accounts between June 2021 and November 2022.

The accused reportedly had a penchant for online games such as Monopoly and CrazyTimes.

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A bank officer and his accomplice have been charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly embezzling over Rs 55 crore from various accounts, with a large portion of the funds being used for virtual betting. The accused, Bedanshu Shekhar Mishra, was employed at the North Campus branch of Punjab & Sind Bank at Khalsa College of Delhi University. Mishra and his accomplice, Shailesh Kumar Jaiswal, are accused of committing forgery to transfer funds from various accounts to various online betting games.

Mishra reportedly admitted to using banking IDs of colleagues to make illegal transfers for online gaming purposes. During the CBI investigation, Mishra was found to have illegally encashed 32 fixed deposits belonging to Khalsa College, totalling Rs 48.76 crore, as well as siphoning Rs 6.74 crore from various Mudra Loan accounts.

The CBI alleged that Mishra used official IDs allotted to the officer of Khalsa College Branch for transferring the funds into 29 different bank accounts, without any supporting vouchers in the record of the bank. Irregularities, forgery, siphoning, and misappropriation of funds were noticed by the bank in various accounts.

Mishra reportedly had a penchant for online games such as Monopoly and CrazyTimes offered on the website "Goa247.live," registered in Curacao in the Caribbean and managed in India by individuals based in Dubai. Between May 12 and September 14 in 2022, Mishra regularly played online games and transferred the liquidated amount of the said FDR, to the tune of Rs 10.81 crore, in the four accounts provided by the gaming website.

Investigations showed that Dubai-based individuals Rajat Muralidhar, Nishanth, Rahul Kumar, A Rajath, and Nishanth were managing the website in India. The CBI alleged that these individuals lured individual current account holders to offer their bank accounts in lieu of commission. These personal bank accounts were then used to accept deposits from the customers of the gaming website.

The investigation into the scam revealed that Mishra sanctioned and opened 48 Mudra loan accounts between June 2021 and November 2022. Mishra's alleged accomplice, Jaiswal, managed eight of these accounts through his relatives and employees. The proceeds of the loan amount were funnelled into the gaming business site GameKing11, and the rest of the amount was allegedly utilised for illegal purposes other than those for which the loans were sanctioned.

WhatsApp conversations between Mishra and Jaiswal revealed that Jaiswal had asked Mishra to transfer the amount from the Mudra loan accounts to various current accounts. Mishra reportedly carried out transactions in Mudra loan accounts on the direction of Jaiswal without any authority from the actual account holders. Fraudulent transactions to the tune of Rs 6.74 crore in seven bank accounts were made on the directions of Jaiswal, indicating that Mishra was acting under Jaiswal's influence, and both played an active role in the conspiracy to illegally transfer public money using fake Mudra accounts and identities.

The CBI has charged both Mishra and Jaiswal with forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust, among other offences.