Hyderabad: Lulu Group has allegedly lost ₹1.64 crore in an email impersonation fraud involving unidentified persons posing as representatives of an Italian company.
Kochi City Police registered a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station on Friday, October 23, following a complaint by Deepak Sreedhar Nair, legal manager of Lulu Group.
According to the FIR, the alleged fraud occurred between September 2 and 29. The accused reportedly created email addresses resembling those of IE Park SRL, an Italian company with an established business relationship with Lulu Group.
The fraudsters allegedly sent invoices and bank account details for outstanding payments related to gaming equipment purchased from the Italian company.
Believing the communications were genuine, Lulu Group transferred 150,500 euros, equivalent to approximately ₹1.64 crore, to the bank accounts provided by the unidentified persons, according to the complaint.
Kochi Police Investigate Lulu Group Email Fraud
Police suspect the accused used impersonation and forged electronic communications to divert the payment. The FIR cites provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
The accused have not been identified publicly. Investigators are working to trace the transactions and establish who controlled the recipient bank accounts.
The alleged fraud highlights the risks businesses face when criminals impersonate established suppliers and manipulate payment instructions through lookalike email addresses.
Lulu Group, headed by M. A. Yusuff Ali, operates across several countries, with a major presence in the Middle East and India. Its business interests include hypermarkets, shopping malls, trading, import and distribution, shipping and information technology.
The company had not publicly responded to the incident at the time of the reports. The investigation is continuing, and the allegations have not yet been established in court.
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