Representative image for an arrest.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: The Northeast Cyber, Economic, and Narcotics (CEN) crime police have arrested three people involved in a digital arrest scam that defrauded a Bengaluru-based techie of Rs 11 crore.
The suspects have been identified as Dhaval Bhai Shah, 35, a bullion trader from Gujarat, Karan, 24, from Gujarat, and Tarun Natani, 26, from Delhi. According to police, the trio was part of a larger network with handlers operating from Dubai.
The case was registered by the North CEN police on November 11 after the victim, Vijay Kumar KS, reported the scam. Kumar, a techie, was allegedly held under digital arrest for over a month, from November 11 to December 12.
Kumar received a call from someone posing as a representative of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), who claimed that a case had been filed against him in the Mumbai Crime Branch regarding a SIM card linked to his Aadhaar. He was further told that his Aadhaar was used to open a bank account involved in laundering Rs 6 crore for a person named Naresh Goyal.
Under the pretense of investigation, Kumar was “interrogated” over Skype and threatened with a hearing in the Supreme Court. Over a month, he was coerced into transferring Rs 11.83 crore to the scammers in multiple transactions.
The CEN investigators found that part of the crime proceeds were received by an account under Shah’s name. Further investigations led the police to Karan.
It was also discovered that the victim’s KYC details were misused to purchase bullion from Shah, for which he received Rs 7.5 crore from the crime proceeds, the police said.
Karan frequently procured SIM cards from Natani. The police revealed that these SIM cards were sent to Dubai and used in cybercrimes like digital arrest scams.
Authorities suspect that a handler in Dubai coordinated the scam and received the stolen funds through hawala channels, while offering the trio a commission for their involvement.