Central Bank of India has reported a cyber fraud of ₹13.97 crore siphoned from its RBI settlement account through 187 unauthorised transfers. The fraudulent activity occurred via an alleged breach of the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS) server.
₹13.97 crore
Amount Siphoned
⏳ Time Machine
How today’s news fits into the bigger picture
2016
Bangladesh Bank SWIFT Heist
Hackers stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York using fraudulent SWIFT messages. This highlighted vulnerabilities in global financial messaging systems and prompted widespread security reviews.
2017-2019
RBI's Focus on Cybersecurity Guidelines
The Reserve Bank of India issued several guidelines and frameworks for cybersecurity in the banking sector, mandating enhanced security measures, incident response plans, and regular audits to protect financial data and systems.
2020
Increase in Digital Payment Frauds
During the COVID-19 pandemic, India saw a surge in digital payment adoption and a corresponding increase in cyber frauds targeting customers and banking systems, prompting a greater focus on fraud prevention mechanisms.
2022
RBI Launches 'Daksh' Supervision System
The RBI launched 'Daksh', an advanced supervisory monitoring system, to improve the oversight of banks and NBFCs, including their cybersecurity frameworks, in a more data-driven manner.
October 15-17, 2026
187 Unauthorized Transfers Occur
The cyber fraud at Central Bank of India took place over three days, with six transfers on October 15, 88 on October 16, and 93 on October 17, totalling ₹13.97 crore.
Today
Central Bank of India reports a ₹13.97 crore cyber fraud involving 187 unauthorised transfers from its RBI settlement account.
What happens next?
Mumbai Cyber Police will continue investigating the sophisticated fraud, while the RBI and banks will likely review and strengthen SFMS security protocols and internal controls.
Central Bank of India has filed an FIR after discovering that **₹13.97 crore** was siphoned from its settlement account with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The fraud involved **187 unauthorised transfers** executed between October 15 and 17, with funds routed into **36 different bank accounts**. The bank alleges that unknown persons gained unauthorised access to the central Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS) server of Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (Iftas), a wholly-owned RBI subsidiary, through the SFMS server of the bank's core banking system. Crucially, the bank's internal systems showed no record of these transactions, indicating a sophisticated bypass of standard verification workflows. This incident raises serious concerns about the cybersecurity resilience of India's financial messaging infrastructure.
💭 If you're wondering…
Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (Iftas) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI. It operates the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS), which is crucial for secure communication and message exchange between banks for interbank payments.
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