Salary Account Scam: 4 Arrested For Duping ICICI Bank In Hyderabad Of Rs. 1.33 Crore

In August 2022, four people were arrested for defrauding ICICI Bank’s Nacharam branch for a sum of Rs 1.3 crore. The main conman, Boda Srikanth, collaborated with Banoth Sumanth, Bhukya Nagesh, Guddeti Gowtham, and Yadla Bikshapathi in executing the scam. The arrests happened as part of a joint operation involving the Malkajgiri Special Operations Team and Nacharam police.

Their scheme involved fabricating documents for a fictitious company named ‘Living Interior Design’ and opening fraudulent salary accounts at ICICI Bank in Nacharam. Srikanth, originally from Warangal, enticed unemployed individuals and housewives from nearby villages by promising them low-interest loans. He collected their Aadhar cards under pretences and utilised them to establish fraudulent accounts.

According to Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh Bhagwat, Boda Srikanth enlisted 53 individuals as employees of the fictitious company, Living Interior Designer. Subsequently, he opened savings accounts at ICICI Bank branches located in Habsiguda, Ramanthapur, and Uppal, to channel their salaries through these accounts. Srikanth went a step further by depositing salaries ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 2 lakh into the accounts of 34 credit card holders. By inflating their income levels, he aimed to secure higher credit lines, allowing them to make substantial purchases or obtain larger credit limits.

Srikanth utilised the services offered by ICICI Bank for credit card users and withdrew a cumulative sum of Rs 1,33,65,000 across 34 credit cards. Subsequently, he persuaded the cardholders to accept partial payment by misleading them into believing that they had acquired loans with extremely low-interest rates. Ultimately, he evaded repayment of the borrowed amount.

The individual in question established two fraudulent companies: Yellow Lamp Interior Designers Pvt Ltd in Narapally and Brick and Rock Interiors Pvt Ltd in Manikonda, through which they deceived YES Bank, HDFC Bank, and various other banks using similar tactics.

After repeatedly reminding and sending notices to the 34 account holders who had failed to repay the amounts they had borrowed on their credit cards, the banks discovered that the said company did not exist. Consequently, they reported the matter to the police.

Upon investigation, the police determined that five individuals were involved in the fraudulent scheme. However, one member of the gang, Yadla Bhiksapati, recently passed away.