Mumbai Crime: Insurance Company Gets ₹3 Crore Extortion Threat Via Email; Police Launch Probe

Mumbai: An extortion case has been registered in Mumbai after a leading insurance company received a threatening email demanding ₹3 crore ransom in Bitcoin. The email sender warned that if the ransom was not paid, the company's confidential data would be leaked. Following the company's complaint, N.M. Joshi Marg Police have registered a case of extortion and started investigating the matter with the help of cyber experts.

About The Case

According to N.M. Joshi Marg Police Station, the insurance company, located at Peninsula Park, Lower Parel, received the threatening email a week ago. The sender demanded 4.2 Bitcoins (approximately ₹3 crore) and threatened to make the company’s confidential data public if the ransom was not paid.

Fearing data exposure, the company filed a complaint against the unknown sender and any potential insider involved in the data breach. On Tuesday, G. Padmakar Tripathi, representing the company, lodged a complaint at the N.M. Joshi Marg Police Station.

Based on the complaint, the police have registered the case under sections BNS 308(3) ( Extortion attempt with threats), 351(2)(Criminal intimidation), IT Act Sections 66(A) and 66 Sending offensive messages and unauthorized access to data.

The company has already conducted an internal investigation and shared the relevant information with the police. Cyber experts are now analyzing the email and digital traces to identify the sender.

Since the accused has access to the company’s confidential data, investigators are also probing the possible involvement of an insider. The cyber team is providing technical assistance to trace the source of the email and identify the extortionist.