Highlights
Bengaluru Police Arrest Four in Major Embezzlement Case
Bengaluru police have apprehended four individuals, including a manager from Axis Bank, for their involvement in the alleged embezzlement of over Rs 12 crore from Dreamplug Paytech Solutions. This information comes from a media report stating that Dreamplug is the entity behind the fintech unicorn CRED.
Details of the Arrests
According to a report by the Times of India, the individuals arrested are:
- Vaibhav Pithadiya – Relationship manager at Axis Bank, Rajkot
- Parmar Neha Ben Vipulbhai – Banking agent from Surat
- Shailesh – Insurance agent from Rajkot
- Shubham – Commission agent from Rajkot
The arrests followed a complaint lodged by Narasimha Vasanth Sastry, an executive from CRED.
Understanding CRED
For those unfamiliar, CRED facilitates a variety of payment options beyond credit card bills, showing significant growth in P2P UPI payments among its user base.
Uncovering the Fraud
The fraudulent activities were uncovered on November 12, when executives at Dreamplug noticed anomalous transactions in their bank accounts. They discovered that Rs 12.2 crore had been illicitly withdrawn from two Axis Bank accounts – a current account and a nodal account, both established in 2021.
The report detailed that the fraudsters executed 37 transactions within a span of 14 days, from October 29 to November 11, transferring Rs 12.2 crore to numerous accounts across the country.
Company Growth Indicators
In light of this incident, startup Superb has reached out to both CRED and Axis Bank for further information.
Based in Bengaluru, CRED has witnessed a remarkable 66% year-on-year revenue growth, achieving a total revenue of Rs 2,473 crore. As reported by various sources from a startup data intelligence platform, the firm led by Kunal Shah has successfully raised a total of $1 billion (Rs 7,775.20 crore) across nine funding rounds.