Nashik Call Centre Scam: CBI Finds Accused Bribed Officials To Target UK Citizens

Days after busting two illegal Nashik-based call centre rackets duping U.K. nationals, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe revealed that the arrested accused had also set up a command centre at a bungalow in the city to monitor operations. According to agency officials, one of the accused was providing illegal gratification to various public servants in cash and kind for the smooth functioning of these illegal call centres. 

According to CBI sources, on September 13, the accused, Ganesh Kamankar and his brother Shyam, both residents of Kalyan, were found among those running call centres that posed as insurance agents to cheat U.K. citizens, particularly in the name of providing coverage for television appliances. 

The further investigations revealed that the rackets used spoofed numbers, VoIP infrastructure, and fraudulent payment gateways to obtain proceeds of crime. The accused allegedly lured victims into sharing debit/credit card details and made them pay hefty sums for fake insurance services. 

CBI sources stated that the interrogation of the brothers revealed that another syndicate member managed the payment gateways and financial transactions. This person is believed to be the mastermind and owner of a front company used to project the scam as legitimate. 

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The probe further found that Ganesh provided illegal gratification in cash and kind to certain public servants to ensure the smooth functioning of the call centres. The syndicate sourced U.K. citizens’ data through a New Delhi-based contact and other channels, before funnelling the proceeds via bank accounts opened with forged KYC documents, allegedly in connivance with unidentified bank officials, the agency said.