Tamil Nadu Panchayat Accounts Cyber Fraud: ₹22 Crore in Rural Health Grants Moved Out Through a Bank Portal

About ₹22.10 crore has been stolen from the bank accounts of three Tamil Nadu panchayat unions, ETV Bharat reported on 10 November, through an online portal that connects the unions with their bank. The largest loss, around ₹14 crore, was from Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district, followed by about ₹5 crore from Dharapuram in Tiruppur and ₹3.10 crore from Nagapattinam. Dinamalar gives the same three amounts, while Daily Thanthi names Tambaram instead of Dharapuram for the ₹5 crore. No arrests or recovery of the money have been reported.

What the police complaint says

The South First, which has seen the complaint, puts the loss at ₹22,30,04,879 across 46 transactions made between 12 and 30 October. The money was a health grant for primary healthcare in rural areas, held in an account of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department.

The transfers went through a portal built for HDFC Bank's Single Nodal Account management system, using the Maker and Checker logins of the block development offices concerned: the pair of officials who raise and then approve each payment. Whether those IDs and passwords were stolen, or the portal itself was broken, is "yet to be established". ETV Bharat reports that investigators think the attackers "may have exploited a technical vulnerability in the portal"; Dinamalar says officials were sent links by email. HDFC Bank hasn't commented in any of these reports.

Where the money went

According to the complaint, the money landed in accounts of companies and individuals across the country. Investigators have found digital traces linked to Bangladesh, the United States and Greece. Several Tamil papers, Daily Thanthi among them, say a Nigerian gang may have carried out the fraud; police haven't confirmed that.

The investigation

The Chennai Central Crime Branch's Cyber Crime Wing has registered a case under five sections. The Tamil Nadu government hasn't issued a statement on the theft or on changes to how panchayat payments are approved.