Pharma firm duped of ₹22 crore in cyber fraud

The scam unravelled when the company reached out to the actual head of international operations at the US-based company, only to learn that no such refund request had been made. A subsequent internal investigation revealed that the emails were sent from a fake

- Poonam Apraj

A top Indian pharmaceutical company has fallen prey to a sophisticated cyber fraud, losing Rs 22.31 crore in an elaborate email scam. The fraud was uncovered when the company's finance department attempted to verify a suspicious transaction with a US-based partner.

A case has been registered at the Central Region Cyber Police Station following a written complaint by the senior general manager of the legal department of Alkem Laboratories Ltd. A cyber police officer confirmed that an FIR has been filed, and investigation is underway.