TMC MP loses nearly Rs 57 lakh after fraudsters gain access to bank account using fake KYC

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Saturday said that he had lost nearly Rs 57 lakh after cybercriminals gained access to his State Bank of India account using forged Know Your Customer documents, NDTV reported.

Banerjee said that the account had been dormant.

KYC, or Know Your Customer, is a regulatory process that financial institutions use to verify the identity of their customers before allowing access to services like opening bank accounts, investing, or using digital wallets. Customers have to submit documents such as Aadhaar, PAN card, photograph, and biometric data.

“My photo was superimposed,” NDTV quoted the Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal's Serampore as saying. “PAN and Aadhaar were used wrongfully. Using that account, nearly Rs 57 lakh has been siphoned from my account that I won as MP.”

According to reports, the account had been opened between 2001 and 2006 when Banerjee was serving as the MLA of Asansol South.

All his allowances as a legislator at the time had been deposited into this account.

Banerjee said that the bank manager of the Calcutta High Court branch, where the account had been opened, called him on Thursday and told him about the alleged fraud, The Times of India reported. He told NDTV that the bank had detected suspicious transactions and filed a complaint with the Cybercrime Division of the Kolkata Police.

The funds were withdrawn through a series of online transfers, ATM withdrawals and jewellery purchases, The New Indian Express quoted unidentified officials as saying.

“After SBI lodged a complaint, the case has been under investigation,” NDTV quoted Banerjee as saying. “On Friday night, the SBI credited Rs 57 lakh in my Parliament account. They said it was because of some internal fault.”

The Lok Sabha MP further asked why the Union Ministry of Finance has not set up an anti-cyber fraud unit, NDTV reported. “If a person like me were to fall under the trap of bank fraud, what will the common people face?” he asked.

Source: Scroll
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