Two Nigerians, Raphael Yinka and Kelvin Ozombe, arrested in India for hacking a bank account

The Surat CID has arrested a five-member gang, including two Nigerian nationals, on suspicion of breaking into a construction contractor's bank account and transferring Rs 171 million through online banking.

The accused are Raphael Yinka (38) and Kelvin Ozombe (38), Nigerian citizens residing in Mumbai, Nevil Shukla, a resident of Rajkot, Rakesh Malaviya of Katargam and Imran Kazi of Mumbai.

The builder filed a complaint with the police, alleging that Rs 1.71 crore was fraudulently transferred from his bank account on July 26 and 27, 2020. During investigation, the police found that out of the total amount, Rs 18.20 lakh was transferred to two bank accounts of Vikash Solanki of Surat.

When Solanki was questioned by the police a few days ago, he told them that he had seen an advertisement in a local newspaper claiming that one could earn money by working from home. He then called the phone number mentioned in the advertisement, Solanki claimed.

The person on the other side identified himself as Mohit Parmar, who asked Solanki to open two bank accounts with ICICI and provide him with all the details. Solanki did as he was told, police said. Parmar then handed over Solanki's bank cards, passbooks and other banking details to Imran Kazi. Police have questioned Parmar along with Solanki.

Imran then handed over everything to Nevil Shukla and his assistant Rakesh Malaviya. The five members divided Rs 18.20 lakh among themselves.

The police confiscated ten mobile phones and five bank cards from the defendants. After a Covid-19 test, the defendants were arrested by criminal investigation officers on Wednesday afternoon.

AK Chauhan, police inspector, Surat crime branch, said, “The five arrested members told us that they transferred Rs 1.71 crore, which they had stolen from the Surat construction company's account, to 11 other bank accounts. Of these, we have already received details of Rs 18.20 lakh. The gang members were targeting unemployed youth and luring them to work from home and earn money. Vikash Solanki is one of them.”

The inspector added: “Imran, Nevil and Rakesh provide bank account details to Nigerian nationals into which the fraudulent money is transferred. We have not yet filed any charges against Solanki and Parmar as their role in the gang is yet to be ascertained.”