Published Nov 10, 2026 | 6:43 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 10, 2026 | 6:43 PM
A sum of ₹22.30 crore belonging to the Tamil Nadu Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department was allegedly siphoned off through cyber fraud, according to a First Information Report (FIR).
Ramprasad, who works as a Block Development Officer and Superintendent at the Directorate of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, lodged a complaint with the Chennai Police Commissioner alleging the unauthorised transfer of ₹22,30,04,879 from a bank account held by the department.
The 15th Finance Commission had allocated the funds under a health grant for improving primary healthcare infrastructure in rural areas. The funds were held in a separate bank account in the name of the Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj at an HDFC Bank branch in CIT Nagar, Nandanam, Chennai.
According to the complaint, authorised Block Development Officers were provided with individual user IDs and passwords to access the account and process payments to contractors.
However, between October 12 and October 30, unidentified persons allegedly gained unauthorised access to the bank account and transferred ₹22.30 crore through electronic transactions without the department’s approval.
The FIR states that the fraud was carried out using an online portal developed for HDFC Bank’s Single Nodal Account (SNA) management system. The website, Squareuplive.com/rdprd, was reportedly developed by a company named Lead Winner Corp. The complaint alleges that the fraudulent funds were routed through bank accounts linked to various email addresses using the portal.
The user accounts associated with the Block Development Offices in Keezhaiyur in Nagapattinam district, Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district and Dharapuram in Tiruppur district were allegedly misused. The Maker and Checker user ID credentials, a dual-control authorisation system used in banking, associated with these offices were used to facilitate the transactions.
A total of 46 transactions involving ₹22,30,04,879 were identified, with the money transferred to bank accounts belonging to several companies and individuals across the country.
Among the entities whose bank accounts allegedly received the money were Samvyadh Marketing, Krishna Kirana Store, Pchandr Group, Bharat Grain, Nexvora Commerce Private Limited and M/S K H B Brick Field. Other companies named in the complaint include Heyinz Infrastructure Private Limited, Octave Limited, MMABS Private Limited and NAKSRAJ Tour and Travels.
It is yet to be established whether the authorised officials’ user IDs and passwords were stolen, whether there was a security vulnerability in the bank’s online portal, or whether OTPs and other authentication mechanisms were compromised.
The Chennai Central Crime Branch’s Cyber Crime Wing has registered a case under five sections and launched an investigation into the alleged fraud.
(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
