CBI arrests Vodafone area sales manager for ‘helping’ cyber criminals

The gang was providing bulk SMS services to international cyber criminals targeting Indian citizens

PTI, New Delhi, Jan 08, 2026 : CBI has arrested an area sales manager of Vodafone for allegedly facilitating the fraudulent issuance of bulk SIM cards, which were used by a cyber-criminal gang involved in large-scale phishing operations, officials said on Thursday.

The alleged role of Binu Vidhyadharan, posted as the Vodafone area sales manager, New Delhi, surfaced during a CBI probe into a cyber-criminal gang operating from Delhi-NCR and Chandigarh in December last year.

Asked for a comment, a Vodafone spokesperson said the matter is “currently under investigation and we are cooperating with the authorities concerned and providing all necessary support”.

The gang was providing bulk SMS services to international cyber criminals targeting Indian citizens.

“The accused had procured around 21,000 SIM cards in violation of DoT (Department of Telecommunications) rules, for facilitating transmission of bulk SMS, used by cyber criminals for sending phishing messages,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

These SIM cards were controlled through an online platform to send bulk messages. The messages offered fake loans, investment opportunities and other financial benefits, with the aim of stealing personal and banking details of innocent people.

Three persons, including a channel partner of the telecom service provider, were arrested in December 2025 and are currently under judicial custody, the CBI spokesperson said.

During the probe, it surfaced that Vidhyadharan was actively involved in facilitating the fraudulent issuance of SIM cards in bulk, projecting dummy individuals as employees of Lord Mahavira Services India Private Limited, and had submitted their documents for KYC formalities, the CBI spokesperson said.

“It was further revealed that members of a family residing in Bengaluru were among those arranged by the official and shown as employees of the accused company,” she added.

The CBI has found copies of these persons’ Aadhaar cards from the possession of Vidhyadharan.

“The SIM cards obtained through these fraudulent means were subsequently used for operating the phishing ecosystem exposed during the investigation. Phishing is the first key step in most cyber frauds to lure innocent public. It uses mass SMS, calls or messages to lure victims with false offers of loans, investments or threats. Once victims share details or click links, they get engaged in bigger scams, leading to money loss,” the CBI spokesperson said.