UP STF busts Rs 100-crore interstate loan fraud gang

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has busted a highly organized interstate gang involved in large-scale loan fraud, identity forgery, and property scams amounting to over Rs 100 crore, officials confirmed on Friday.

Acting on a complaint received from an officer of HDFC Bank, the STF initiated an investigation that led to the arrest of eight accused – Ramkumar, Nitin Jain, Mohd. Wasi, Shamshad Alam, Indrakumar Karmakar, Anuj Yadav, Tahir Hussain, and Ashok alias Deepak Jain alias Rinky.

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The case was supervised by Additional Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Mishra and led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Navendu Kumar.

A team headed by Inspector Sachin Kumar of the STF Noida Unit carried out extensive intelligence gathering that eventually exposed the sophisticated operations of the gang.

On December 4, 2025, Inspector Kumar received credible information from an informant that a gang was creating forged documents and impersonating homeowners to fraudulently secure bank loans.

Acting on the tip-off, the STF detained the accused for questioning, during which substantial documentary evidence emerged, leading to their formal arrest.

During interrogation, key accused Ramkumar (45), a former loan executive with HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, admitted to orchestrating the racket.

Using his prior industry experience, he allegedly created fake profiles in collusion with various builders. He also registered shell companies—TSA Software Services Pvt. Ltd. and Triptechie Pvt. Ltd.—using forged Aadhaar identities.

Bank accounts for these fabricated individuals were opened with insider support from banking personnel, enabling the gang to generate fake salary credits and build credible loan-worthy profiles.

The gang targeted individuals working in Gulf countries by luring them with money and using their identity details to secure fraudulent home and personal loans. Properties were often purchased under these fake identities, with the involvement of builders to facilitate and legitimize the transactions.

One major fraudulent transaction involved property belonging to deceased Delhi resident Ratan Vasudeva. Her property was illegally transferred to an associate, Sanaullah Ansari, after placing a woman named Shahida Ahmed as an impersonator. A loan of Rs 4.8 crore was secured against this property. Another gang member, Anil Sharma, who has been in custody in Delhi since March 2025, had earlier taken a fraudulent loan of Rs 125 crore from LIC Housing Finance through similar means.

Investigations have revealed the existence of over 20 shell firms used to launder the defrauded money. More than 220 bank accounts associated with the gang have been frozen. The fraud spans multiple cities, including Noida, Lucknow, Varanasi, Haridwar, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Gurugram, with suspected involvement of several builders.

A case has been registered at Surajpur Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act, and further investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, in a major breakthrough against organized cybercrime, the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh arrested a key member of a multi-state cyber-fraud syndicate from Lucknow. The accused, identified as Pradeep Soni, son of Munna Lal Soni and a resident of Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh, was apprehended near Phoenix Palassio Mall, Gomti Nagar Extension, police said on Friday.

During the operation, the STF recovered several incriminating items from Soni, including two mobile phones, a PAN card, a driving licence, a blank cheque, an ATM card, an Aadhaar card, a vehicle registration certificate, a SIM card, and ten screenshots containing details of bank accounts used for cyber frauds.