Delhi ex-banker duped of ₹23 cr after month-long 'digital arrest' scam

Cyber fraudsters posing as ED and CBI officials duped a retired banker in south Delhi's Gulmohar Park area of Rs 23 crore by allegedly putting him under "digital arrest" for nearly a month, police said on Monday.

The accused allegedly told the victim that his Aadhaar card was involved in narcotics trafficking, terror funding and Pulwama terror attack and confined him to his flat under the pretext of investigation, an officer said.

"The scammers directed him not to step out of his house and coerced him into transferring his savings to various bank accounts over a span of one month," the officer said.

According to the police, the 78-year-old victim stated in his complaint that the ordeal began on August 4 when he received a call from a man claiming to be a Mumbai Police officer.

The caller accused him of being linked to a drug trafficking racket. Subsequently, fraudsters impersonating ED and CBI officials also contacted him.

"Out of fear, the victim complied with their instructions and kept transferring money from his bank accounts to the accounts specified by the fraudsters. Accused also threatened the victim of dire consequences, if he reveal the matter to anyone," the officer added.

The victim's ordeal continued till September 4, after which the fraudsters stopped contacting him. Realising he had been duped, he lodged a complaint on the NCRP portal on September 19, following which the matter was transferred to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit.

The police said an FIR has been registered and Rs 12.11 crore of the cheated amount has been frozen in various bank accounts. The money trail revealed that the funds were layered across multiple accounts and withdrawn from different parts of the country to evade detection, the police said.

"The entire matter is under investigation. Multiple teams are already working on it. Police will crack the case soon and will arrest the accused behind the digital arrest," the officer said.