Major Cybercrime Uncovered: Four Arrested For Siphoning ₹12.5 Crore From CRED

In a major cybercrime case, Bengaluru police have arrested four individuals from Gujarat for allegedly embezzling ₹12.5 crore from the credit card payments platform CRED. The suspects are accused of stealing sensitive data and forging Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) documents to execute the fraud. The mastermind behind the scheme is identified as 33-year-old Vaibhav Pitadiya, a relationship manager at Axis Bank in Gujarat. He is accused of exploiting his insider knowledge to orchestrate the entire scam.

How the Fraud Was Committed

The fraud was carried out using vulnerabilities in CRED’s corporate account, which is managed through Axis Bank’s Indiranagar branch in Bengaluru. According to the police, Pitadiya identified weaknesses in CRED’s nodal corporate account, which is linked to Dream Plugpay Tech Solutions Private Limited. This account processes daily transactions exceeding ₹2 crore. Pitadiya noticed two associated corporate accounts were inactive but knew the procedures to reactivate them.

To execute the fraud, Pitadiya enlisted Neha Ben, an Instagram acquaintance, to impersonate CRED’s managing director (MD). Neha submitted forged board resolutions and documents to Axis Bank, where she successfully got the account modified and created a new user with fresh credentials. Using these credentials, the group initiated multiple fraudulent transactions.

Pitadiya then recruited two more associates, Shailesh and Shubham, to assist with the scam. Together, they forged additional documents and opened mule accounts to channel the stolen funds. The fraud was uncovered on November 13, when CRED’s routine bank account reconciliation revealed discrepancies totaling ₹12.5 crore. The company immediately alerted Axis Bank, which led to further investigation.

Investigation and Arrests

The Bengaluru police initiated their investigation based on a complaint filed at the East CEN Crime police station. The probe revealed that 17 unauthorized transactions took place between October 29 and November 11, transferring the funds to suspicious accounts. Neha Ben was arrested on December 21, and during questioning, she revealed the involvement of Pitadiya and other associates.

As of now, the police have recovered ₹1.83 crore of the stolen amount, and efforts are underway to recover the remaining funds and identify any additional accomplices involved in the fraud. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to bring all those responsible to justice.

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