Naresh Gujral loses ₹7.68 crore in WhatsApp impersonation fraud; police freeze ₹4.28 crore

Naresh Gujral, son of former prime minister IK Gujral, has allegedly been defrauded of ₹7.68 crore after cybercriminals impersonated him on WhatsApp and tricked his company’s chief financial officer (CFO) into transferring funds through multiple RTGS transactions.

Following a complaint by Gujral, the case was taken up by the Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit. Investigators have so far managed to freeze ₹4.28 crore of the stolen amount.

“An FIR was registered on June 16. Immediate action was taken and ₹4.28 crore out of the total defrauded amount of ₹7.68 crore has been marked as lien/hold in various banks. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest those involved,” said Vinit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO).

According to police, the fraud took place between June 12 and June 16 after scammers allegedly gained access to a WhatsApp account and posed as Gujral.

CFO tricked into transferring funds

Gujral, who runs a manufacturing business in South Delhi’s Okhla area, told police that his company’s CFO, Shubham Singh, received a WhatsApp message on June 12 from a number displaying Gujral’s profile picture.

Believing the message to be genuine, Singh was allegedly instructed to transfer money through RTGS transactions. Acting on the directions, he transferred ₹7.68 crore in four separate transactions.

Investigators suspect the fraudsters either hacked or closely mimicked Gujral’s WhatsApp identity, enabling them to deceive the employee.

Police said the money was routed through multiple bank accounts, though nearly 70 per cent of the amount has since been frozen.

Fraud discovered days later

The transactions initially went unnoticed as the CFO reportedly believed they were part of routine business operations. However, the bank flagged the transfers due to the unusually large sums involved.

The scam came to light on June 16 when Singh became suspicious and informed Gujral’s daughter. After verifying the transactions with her father, the family discovered that no such instructions had been issued.

Realising they had fallen victim to a sophisticated impersonation scam, Gujral approached the police, prompting a cybercrime investigation.

Police are now tracing the beneficiary accounts and examining the digital trail to identify those behind the fraud.