Four arrested in Rs 12.5 Cr CRED fraud case

Bengaluru police have arrested four people from Gujarat in connection with a major cybercrime case involving a Rs 12.5 crore embezzlement from the credit card payment platform CRED. The suspects are accused of stealing sensitive data and forging Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) documents to carry out the fraud. Vaibhav Pitadiya, a 33-year-old relationship manager at Axis Bank in Gujarat, is believed to be the mastermind behind the scam. He allegedly exploited his insider knowledge to manipulate the system.

The fraud unfolded through CRED’s corporate account, managed by Axis Bank’s Indiranagar branch in Bengaluru. Authorities have so far managed to recover Rs 1.83 crore of the stolen amount. The scam targeted vulnerabilities in CRED’s nodal corporate account, linked to Dream Plugpay Tech Solutions Private Limited, which processes transactions worth over ₹2 crore daily. Pitadiya identified that two associated corporate accounts were inactive and knew the procedures to reactivate them.

Pitadiya enlisted his acquaintance, Neha Ben, from Instagram, to impersonate CRED’s managing director (MD). Using forged board resolutions and supporting documents, Neha posed as the MD and requested changes to the corporate account. She submitted fraudulent CIB forms at Axis Bank’s Ankleshwar branch in Gujarat to add a new user, which allowed the group to execute unauthorized transactions.

Pitadiya recruited two additional associates, Shailesh and Shubham, to further the scheme. The duo created fake documents and opened mule accounts to funnel the stolen funds. CRED discovered the fraud on November 13 during a routine reconciliation of their bank accounts, revealing discrepancies totalling Rs 12.5 crore. The company promptly alerted Axis Bank.

Following an investigation triggered by a complaint at Bengaluru’s East CEN Crime police station, police traced the fraud to Axis Bank’s Ankleshwar branch. Neha was apprehended on December 21 and disclosed the involvement of Pitadiya and his associates. The investigation is ongoing, with efforts to recover the remaining stolen funds and identify further accomplices.