Mumbai, March 28: The Juhu Police are yet to issue a notice to the accused in the unauthorised international transaction case in which Bobby Mohanty (57), honorary consul general of the Republic of Maldives, was the victim.
Complaint filed over cyber fraud
Mohanty has lodged a complaint with Juhu Police alleging that cyber fraudsters siphoned off over Rs 4.59 lakhs from his HSBC credit card through an unauthorised international transaction in October 2025. The fraud was reported to HSBC Bank by the complainant.
The Juhu Police registered an FIR against an unidentified individual for cheating on March 24. In the FIR, Mohanty has alleged that staff members of HSBC could be involved in the scam.
Details of the unauthorised transaction
According to the FIR, Mohanty resides in Juhu and uses an HSBC Bank credit card. On October 8, at around 3:30 pm, while he was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai, after he landed in Mumbai, his wife, Sanghmitra Mohanty, called him and informed him about an email received from the bank stating that Indonesian Rupiah 85,405,927 (approximately Rs 4.59 lakh) had been debited from his credit card to a merchant identified as “Quickbill Jakarta” at 1:26 pm the same day.
His wife immediately informed the bank about the suspicious transaction and clarified that Mohanty was in India at the time.
Bank informed, partial refund issued
Later, at around 3:45 pm, Mohanty contacted the HSBC Juhu branch manager, Sandeep, and a clerk, D’Souza, informing them that the transaction was unauthorised.
The bank subsequently registered the complaint, and on November 11, credited Rs 2.29 lakh to his credit card, reportedly assuring that the remaining amount would be credited soon.
However, in the FIR, Mohanty alleged that the bank’s nodal officer, Sabri Ali, along with Sandeep and D’Souza, failed to credit the remaining amount despite assurances.
Victim alleges lapses by bank
Speaking to FPJ, Mohanty said, “HSBC Bank’s system is extremely compromised. When I was on a flight, the money was debited from my credit card. After I landed, my wife informed me, and I immediately contacted the bank. The staff initially assured me not to worry, saying I was a high-value customer. Later, the bank claimed that I might have shared an OTP, which is not possible as I was on a flight.”
He added, “The bank returned only 50% of the amount. The officials kept delaying the matter and later termed it a civil issue. If this can happen to me, what will happen to an ordinary person? That is why I approached the police.”
Complaint escalated to authorities
Further, he said, “I wrote several letters to the HSBC head but did not receive any reply. When I approached the RBI Ombudsman, I was told that the case had been closed as I had not submitted the documents. However, my staff had visited the Ombudsman’s office and was instructed to drop the papers in a box, after which we were told that the documents were not submitted.”
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Bank denies allegations
When the FPJ contacted the bank's spokesperson on Friday, she denied the allegations levelled against the bank and its officials. She said the bank was in no way responsible for the alleged fraud. She promised to send a detailed reply. But till Saturday evening, no reply was received by FPJ.
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