A major financial scam involving a fake ‘Mahindra’ account, over 2,000 ghost customers, and a fraud amounting to Rs.150 crore has been uncovered in Mizoram, making it the largest auto-finance scam in northeast India. The Mizoram Police has successfully busted the gang responsible for the scam, which had been operating for nearly four years, and has arrested 11 individuals, including the alleged mastermind.
The alleged mastermind of the scam was a former employee of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (MMFSL), a company that primarily provides vehicle loans. This individual created fake files for more than 2,000 ghost customers and sanctioned car loans using these fraudulent documents. The scam was made possible through collusion between certain employees and car dealers. The fraudsters exploited loopholes in MMFSL’s oversight process, including KYC verification, process auditing, tele-verification, and supervisory mechanisms, allowing them to continue their illegal activities from 2020 to 2024.
The alleged mastermind, Mr. Hussain, conspired with a few colleagues and opened a fake bank account in 2020 under the name “Mahindra Finance Limited,” which closely resembled the original brand name. This bank account served as a repository for the defrauded money for over three years. Two of Mr. Hussain’s accomplices, Edenthara and Lalthankima, impersonated high-ranking company officials and submitted forged documents to support the creation of the fake bank account. They even went as far as creating fake stamps, seals, and other documents to make the account appear legitimate. The purpose of this account was to receive payments from car dealers involved in the scam.
The Mizoram Police, specifically the Crime Investigation Department (CID), conducted a raid at Mr. Hussain’s residence on March 29, resulting in his arrest. During the raid, law enforcement seized a laptop and several mobile phones as evidence. Subsequently, on April 2, Edenthara and Lalthankima were arrested. During their interrogation, they revealed that Mr. Hussain had prepared fake documents and misrepresented their office designations to open the fake bank account. They also disclosed that Mr. Hussain would remove the fake files from the office and store them at the house of another accomplice, Manoj Sunar. Mr. Sunar received a monthly payment of ₹15,000 for his assistance in carrying out the fraudulent operations. On April 3, Mr. Sunar was arrested, and during a search of his residence, seven sacks containing files from 2022 to 2024 and forged stamps were recovered.
To avoid suspicion and ensure that the ghost accounts did not become non-performing assets (NPAs), Mr. Hussain and his associates made EMI payments for the fake accounts by withdrawing money from the fake “Mahindra” account. By doing so, they aimed to maintain the appearance of legitimate transactions. The police have frozen 26 ghost bank accounts, totaling nearly ₹2.5 crores, as well as the accounts of car dealers worth ₹1 crore. Additionally, 15 cars worth ₹3 crore have been recovered. Car dealers have directly returned approximately ₹3.47 crores to MMFSL. During the investigation, law enforcement also seized three laptops, ten mobile phones, 549 ghost customers’ files, 25 forged seals, numerous SIM cards, two personal diaries, and various other identity documents.
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