Hackers transfer Rs 94 crore from Pune's Cosmos Bank
Pune, Aug 14: Suspected hackers siphoned off Rs 94.42 crore from the Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd -- the second oldest and second biggest cooperative bank in India -- to various foreign and domestic bank accounts, police said on Tuesday.
The bank was cyber-attacked twice, on Saturday and on Monday, according to an FIR lodged by an official of Cosmos Bank with Chaturshringi Police Station.
The complaint said the first attack took place on August 11 between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. and on August 13 around 11.30 a.m., affecting its headquarters on Ganeshkhind Road.
A police officer said that during those hours, some unknown persons hacked into the ATM Switch (servers) at the headquarters and acquired the sensitive data of its Visa and RuPay debit card customers.
As per tentative estimates, the hackers siphoned off Rs 78 crore by 12,000 Visa card transactions and transferred it out of the country, including bank accounts in Hong Kong.
Another amount of Rs 2.50 crore from 2,849 transactions was transferred within India, details of which were being investigated, said the police.
Before the bank could react, in a fresh attack on Monday (August 13), the hackers initiated SWIFT transactions and transferred Rs 13.92 crore to the accounts of a company, ALM Trading Ltd, with Hang Seng Bank, Hong Kong. The amounts were soon withdrawn from that bank.
Established in 1906, the Pune-headquartered Cosmos Bank is the second oldest and second biggest cooperative bank in the country, enjoying the status of a multi-state scheduled bank.
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Saif Ali Khan’s attacker allegedly let in by house help, Police investigate
Mumbai: Mumbai Police suspect that the attacker who stabbed actor Saif Ali Khan six times during an alleged burglary attempt was let into his Bandra residence by one of his house helps. The house help is currently under scrutiny as police investigate the incident. The 54-year-old actor, who sustained injuries, including one near his spine, has undergone surgery at Lilavati Hospital and is reportedly out of danger.
The attack occurred late at night, and preliminary investigations suggest the assailant may have entered the premises hours earlier and waited for an opportunity to strike. CCTV footage from the residence did not capture any recent entry, strengthening the suspicion that the attacker was assisted by someone inside.
Police reported that the incident began as a scuffle during the burglary attempt. “An unidentified person intruded into the residence of Actor Saif Ali Khan. The actor and the intruder had a scuffle. The actor is injured and is being treated. Investigation is ongoing,” officials said.
The attack has raised questions about security in Mumbai’s high-profile areas. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised the state government, highlighting similar incidents such as the murder of Baba Siddique and the firing outside Salman Khan’s residence. “If celebrities in Bandra are not safe, who in Mumbai is? This is a serious failure of law and order,” she said.
Actor Pooja Bhatt also expressed concerns, urging authorities to address the issue urgently. “Can this lawlessness please be curbed? Bandra has never felt so unsafe before,” she tweeted, tagging Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior officials.
Police are now focused on identifying the attacker, who fled the scene, and examining the possible role of the house help in the incident.
