Bhubaneswar: The 34th meeting of the State Level Co-ordination Committee (SLCC) of Odisha was held at the Reserve Bank of India, Bhubaneswar, on Monday to deliberate on measures against cyber frauds and unregulated deposit schemes.
The meeting, chaired by Anu Garg, Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary, P&C Department, was convened by Sarada Prasan Mohanty, Regional Director, RBI Bhubaneswar.
Senior state government officials, including Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary Finance; Vinaytosh Mishra, Director General of Police, CID Crime Branch; and Radha Kishan Sharma, Special Secretary, Home Department, attended.
Representatives from RBI’s Central Office and Legal Cell, SEBI, and senior officials from Finance, Cooperation, Law, Cyber Crime, and Police Commissionerate were also present.
The meeting was preceded by a Workshop on Cyber Frauds in Odisha, where bankers were urged to extend full cooperation to law enforcement agencies.
DGP Vinaytosh Mishra highlighted that the most common frauds in Odisha include investment and trading scams, digital arrest scams, fake job and work-from-home offers, fraudulent websites and hotel bookings, and social media frauds. He stressed that mule accounts are the backbone of cyber fraud operations and called for urgent corrective action by banks.
Puspamitra Sahu, Chief General Manager, RBI, underscored the central bank’s proactive and adaptive approach to combating cyber-enabled frauds, including regulatory measures, supervisory oversight, coordination with law enforcement agencies, and customer awareness campaigns.
Sankalp Tyagi, Deputy Legal Advisor, RBI, explained key provisions of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019.
Chairperson Anu Garg emphasized the dual challenge of promoting digital innovation while safeguarding the public against financial crimes. She called for extensive awareness campaigns through online and offline channels to protect citizens from Ponzi schemes and cyber frauds.
Garg further stressed the importance of swift conviction of cyber fraudsters as a deterrent and urged all stakeholders to plug system vulnerabilities through preventive and corrective measures.
