KEY TAKEAWAYS

A senior citizen was wrongfully implicated in illegal hawala transactions in connection with the Naresh Goyal money laundering case.

Scammers impersonating IPS and CBI officials pressured him into transferring his funds to a so-called “supervision account.”

The police have initiated an investigation and are tracking the financial movements to locate the fraudsters.

A retired banking officer, aged 78, residing in Noida, has unfortunately become a victim of a sophisticated digital arrest scam, losing an alarming amount of over Rs 3.15 crore within just 15 days. The onset of this perilous cyber fraud dated back to February 25, when the victim received a suspicious video call from an individual purporting to be a representative of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). This person accused him of being involved in illegal activities, including hawala transactions, that were somehow tied to the Naresh Goyal money laundering scandal.

The scammers fabricated a narrative that a criminal case had been lodged against the victim at the Colaba police station in Mumbai. Despite the victim’s explanations regarding his age and inability to travel, they reassured him that the issue could be resolved digitally, facilitating a fake video appearance before the Chief Justice of India, which added an air of legitimacy to their claims.

On the following day, the scam escalated as two alleged officials—one identifying as an IPS officer named Vijay Khanna and the other as a CBI officer named Rahul Gupta—reached out to the victim with dire updates. They informed him that both his bank accounts and fixed deposits had been frozen pending investigation.

In a chilling turn of events, these fraudsters demanded that the elderly man transfer all his money into a covert supervision account for further verification. They promised that once the process was completed, the funds would be returned. To instill fear and obedience, the scammers cautioned the victim against revealing any details of their interaction, citing concerns related to national security.

Feeling cornered and fearing legal repercussions, the victim acquiesced to their demands. For almost two weeks, he underwent what essentially became a digital form of house arrest, during which the fraudsters maintained surveillance via video calls. On March 3, they sent him a forged document that appeared to be from the Supreme Court, asserting that his assets were legitimate and would be returned to him within a week.

However, as time dragged on and no refund materialized, the victim finally chose to reach out to law enforcement for help. A case has since been filed against the unidentified scammers under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act. Law enforcement agencies are now actively tracing the flow of funds in an attempt to locate and apprehend these crafty fraudsters.