Former Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral, son of former prime minister IK Gujral, was allegedly duped of nearly Rs 7.8 crore after cyber fraudsters impersonated him on a messaging platform and tricked his company's chief financial officer into transferring funds to multiple bank accounts, news agency PTI reported.

According to investigators, the fraud took place between June 12 and June 16, when scammers allegedly created an account using Gujral's display picture and sent messages to an employee authorised to handle financial transactions.

Believing the instructions had come from Gujral and were linked to urgent business requirements, the employee carried out four separate Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transfers over four days, resulting in a loss of Rs 7.8 crore, police told the news agency.

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Fraud uncovered after family verification

The fraud came to light on June 16 when the transactions drew the attention of Gujral's daughter.

She immediately verified the matter with her father and discovered that he had never issued any such instructions, police said.

Naresh Gujral, 78, is the son of the late IK Gujral, who served as the country's 12th prime minister from 1997 to 1998.

Following the complaint, police registered an FIR and launched an investigation.

"On the complaint of Naresh Gujral, an FIR has been registered on 16.06.2026. Immediate further action was taken, and Rs 4.28 crore out of the total defrauded amount of Rs 7.68 crore has been marked as a lien/hold in various banks. Efforts are being made to apprehend the persons involved in the fraud," a senior police officer said.

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Money routed through multiple accounts

Investigators said the stolen funds were initially transferred into four bank accounts located in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore was routed into each of these accounts before the money was dispersed further.

Police said the funds were subsequently distributed across 30 to 40 accounts and then moved through multiple additional mule accounts in what appeared to be an attempt to obscure the money trail.

Cyber investigators are now tracing the movement of funds and identifying the beneficiaries of the transactions.

More than 70% of the amount recovered

Speaking to PTI, Gujral said prompt reporting of the incident enabled authorities to freeze a significant portion of the stolen money. "My company and our CFO were victims of the fraud. I was and am out of town. However, do mention that since we reported the crime quickly to the cybercrime department, they helped us to recover more than 70 per cent of the amount, and they are hoping to recover more," he said.

Police said efforts are continuing to trace the remaining funds and arrest those responsible for the fraud.

The case is the latest in a growing number of cybercrime incidents involving impersonation tactics, where fraudsters exploit messaging platforms and stolen identities to gain access to corporate funds.
 

Published on: Jun 21, 2026 12:32 PM IST