Two Arrested for Mobile Banking Fraud of Millions

Kathmandu. Police have taken into custody two individuals who defrauded lakhs of rupees through mobile banking using lost SIM cards of ordinary people. 

A police team dispatched from the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office arrested them from separate locations on Wednesday.

Those arrested include 26-year-old Roshan Pahadi, a resident of Sirjananagar, Bhaktapur, originally from Fikkal Rural Municipality-4, Sindhuli, and 25-year-old Subash Ojha, a resident of Kupandole, Lalitpur, originally from Amargadhi Municipality-8, Dadeldhura. Police took Pahadi into custody from Sallaghari, Bhaktapur, and Ojha from Ekantakuna, Lalitpur.

According to police investigation, a SIM card was issued in the name of victim Kanchi Lama on 2070/07/02 BS. Lama had availed mobile banking facility using the same mobile number when opening an account at the then Nepal Credit & Commerce Bank (now Kumari Bank). While still using that number, her SIM card was lost approximately six years later.

The same lost number was found to have been issued in the name of Roshan Pahadi on 2078/12/12 BS. After the SIM card was reactivated, messages of funds deposited into Kanchi Lama's bank account started coming to Pahadi's mobile.

Subsequently, Pahadi and Ojha jointly initiated Kumari Bank's mobile banking service using that number. It was revealed that they used to withdraw money by deceiving various individuals and transferring funds from their bank accounts to various e-wallets like eSewa, Khalti, and other individuals' bank accounts.

Police stated that they embezzled a total of 24,47,528 rupees by transferring it to various bank accounts and digital wallets through the misuse of mobile banking during the period from 2080/04/20 BS to 2082/07/09 BS. Superintendent of Police Sharad Kumar Thapa Chhetri, Information Officer at the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, informed that they were arrested based on the complaint filed by Kanchi Lama. 

Both arrested individuals have been sent to the District Police Range, Kathmandu for further investigation and necessary action.