In a significant breakthrough, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police has arrested Brajesh Mishra, a key figure in a major cheque cloning and money laundering racket that siphoned off nearly Rs 9.6 crore from a government trust account.
Mishra, who is the proprietor of Mishra Enterprises and Mahakal Construction, was apprehended from Chhattisgarh on March 17, 2026. He was produced before a local court in Chhattisgarh and subsequently brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand. He is scheduled to be produced before the Designated Court under the OPID Act in Balasore on March 20, 2026.
The case pertains to EOW PS Case No. 05 dated April 19, 2024, registered under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC read with Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It was taken over from the Bhanjapur Police Station in Mayurbhanj district based on a complaint by Sujata Kanungo, Chief Manager of Bank of India’s Baripada branch.
According to the investigation, fraudsters used forged and cloned cheques to illegally transfer Rs 9,56,76,600 from the savings account of the District Mineral Foundation Trust, Zilla Parishad, Mayurbhanj, maintained at Bank of India, Baripada. The funds were diverted to two accounts — one in the name of PT Constructions & Supplier at Bank of Maharashtra and another under S K Enterprises at Punjab & Sindh Bank — on April 10 and 18, 2024.
The laundered money was further layered through multiple accounts across states. Authorities have successfully blocked Rs 5,04,06,900, while Rs 13,56,948 lying in 33 different accounts has been frozen.
Mishra’s companies received substantial portions of the illicit funds: Rs 98,30,158 was transferred to Mishra Enterprises and Rs 49,19,920 to Mahakal Construction from the PT Constructions account. Out of these, Rs 14.19 lakh was moved to Mishra’s personal account, with the rest distributed to other accounts with fraudulent intent.
Investigators have revealed that Mishra is part of a well-organised inter-state gang operating for the past four years across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. The syndicate employs sophisticated methods, including cheque cloning, creation of multiple shell accounts, multi-layer money transfers, and local touts for withdrawals.
This marks the fourth arrest in the case. Previously, Pomesh Tembhare from Madhya Pradesh, Ghanshyam Ahuja from Chhattisgarh, and Ajmir Mondal from West Bengal were apprehended. Police stated that Mishra’s interrogation has provided crucial leads about the entire network and its mastermind, who is still at large.
The EOW is continuing its investigation to nab the remaining members of the gang.
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