Mumbai, November 02, 2026: Maharashtra Cyber has arrested a 49-year-old Mumbai resident in connection with an alleged cyber fraud involving the unauthorised transfer of ₹13.96 crore from the Treasury Account of the Central Bank of India maintained with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The accused, identified as Mehul Pravinchandra Simaria, allegedly received ₹2.1 crore of the defrauded amount in his bank account. The money was subsequently transferred to another account, withdrawn and converted into USDT cryptocurrency, according to Maharashtra Cyber.
187 Unauthorised RTGS Transactions
The fraud involved the manipulation of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transaction process, through which 187 unauthorised transactions were allegedly carried out over three days. The funds were transferred to 107 beneficiary accounts across 36 banks.
Following a complaint, an FIR was registered at the Nodal Cyber Police Station, Maharashtra Cyber, Mumbai, under Sections 318(2), 318(3), 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Sections 43, 66 and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Technical And Financial Investigation Underway
Investigators conducted a detailed technical examination of the bank's server infrastructure, transaction records and digital evidence to establish how the RTGS process was allegedly manipulated. A parallel financial investigation traced the movement of the fraudulently transferred funds and helped identify the accused.
Maharashtra Cyber is now tracing the ultimate destination of the funds and identifying other individuals suspected of facilitating the transactions.
The investigation will also examine the RBI server infrastructure managed by Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) to determine whether any compromise occurred within the payment processing system and identify potential technical vulnerabilities.
Maharashtra Cyber Issues Public Advisory
Maharashtra Cyber has cautioned citizens against allowing their bank accounts to be used by unknown persons to receive or transfer money in exchange for commissions, warning that such accounts may be used as money mule accounts to launder cybercrime proceeds or convert them into cryptocurrency.
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Citizens who fall victim to cyber financial fraud have been urged to report incidents immediately by calling the National Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930 or visiting https://www.cybercrime.gov.in/.
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