Mumbai, March 30: The Juhu police have started an investigation into an international fraud of which the honorary consul general of Maldives, Bobby Mohanty (57), is the victim. The police said they are acting as per law, and this will involve sending notices to the accused.
FIR filed over unauthorised transaction
Mohanty has filed a complaint with the Juhu Police alleging that cyber fraudsters siphoned off over Rs 4.59 lakh from his HSBC credit card through an unauthorised international transaction in October 2025. Based on his complaint, the police registered an FIR against an unknown person for cheating on March 24.
Suspicion of internal involvement raised
In the FIR, Mohanty has also raised suspicion about the possible involvement of HSBC staff in the alleged fraud. According to the FIR, Mohanty, a resident of Juhu, was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai on October 8 when the incident occurred.
After landing, his wife, Sanghmitra, informed him about an email from the bank stating that Indonesian Rupiah 85,405,927 (approximately Rs 4.59 lakh) had been debited from his credit card at 1:26 pm to a merchant named “Quickbill Jakarta.”
She immediately alerted the bank, clarifying that Mohanty was in India at the time and had not authorised the transaction.
Partial refund and dispute
At around 3:45 pm, Mohanty contacted the HSBC Juhu branch manager, Sandeep, and a staff member, D’Souza, and reported the fraudulent transaction. The bank registered his complaint and, on November 11, credited Rs 2.29 lakh to his account, assuring that the remaining amount would be refunded 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.
Mohanty’s allegations against 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.”
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’s response
A spokesperson for HSBC Bank told FPJ that “we follow due process and guidelines on disputed credit card transactions. We extend all support to our clients while continuing to advise them to exercise high caution against rising digital frauds. We will extend all cooperation with the authorities when approached.”
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