TMC Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee received ₹57 lakh that was stolen from one of his SBI accounts, but raised the question of what security the common people of the country have against cyber fraud if someone of his stature can be targeted so easily, according to an NDTV report.
Banerjee lost recently ₹57 lakh due to a cyber fraud targeting his dormant account with State Bank of India (SBI).
The lawyer-politician has questioned why the finance ministry under Nirmala Sitharaman is not setting up a cyber fraud unit.
Banerjee also said the bank credited the money back to his account, citing an internal error, according to the publication.
“If a person like me falls into the trap of bank fraud, what will ordinary people face? Why doesn’t the Ministry of Finance set up an anti-cyber fraud unit?” Banerjee told NDTV.
In an interview with this publication, Banerjee claimed that someone had committed fraud using his KYC (know your customer) details.
He had earlier claimed that the miscreants had added a phone number to this account where they were sent OTP (one time password) and transaction details.
“Criminals have transferred ₹57 million from my account. If this can happen to MPs, what will be the condition of the common man? How did these people find out that I have such a significant amount of money in my account?” Banerjee then asked, according to PTI.
“Someone has done KYC fraud. My photo has been overlaid. PAN and Aadhaar have been used unauthorizedly. Using this account almost ₹57 crore that I won as an MP was siphoned off from my account,” he told NDTV.
The bank filed a complaint with the cyber crime branch in Kolkata after it detected suspicious transactions in Banerjee’s account.
The bank later credited ₹57 lakh to his parliamentary account, Banerjee told the publication.
“After SBI lodged a complaint, the case is under investigation. On Friday night, SBI gave credit.” ₹57 million in my parliament account. They said it was due to some internal error,” he said.
NDTV spoke to official sources in the know who said cybercriminals gained access to Banerjee’s SBI account at the West Bengal Legislative Assembly branch and the amount was transferred through a series of unauthorized transactions.
The account from which the money was stolen was opened during 2001-2006 when Banerjee was MLA from Asansol South constituency.
