How fraud over ‘Biden’ horse almost cost equestrian 1.6 cr

Indore: International equestrian Sudipti Hajela from Indore narrowly escaped losing Rs 1.62 crore in an alleged cyber fraud after cyber-cons duped her by spoofing the email account of a Denmark-based company.

The Indore cell of State Cyber Police managed to recover the entire amount, officials said on Friday.SP Sabyasachi Saraf said that Sudipti, who is preparing to represent India at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, had entered into an agreement with Denmark-based company to purchase a horse named ‘Biden’. Since March this year, she had been making payments to the company’s designated bank account, with around 45% of the agreed amount already transferred and acknowledged by the seller.According to police, the fraud took place on May 29 when cybercriminals allegedly spoofed the email account of the company’s director and sent a message claiming that the original bank account could no longer receive payments due to technical reasons. The email instructed the buyer to transfer the remaining amount to a different account. The fraud later came to light when the transaction was verified with the original company.After a complaint, officials traced the recipient account and succeeded in getting the funds placed on hold before they could be withdrawn.