58cr fraud: Cambodia call centre staffer held in Delhi

Mumbai: State nodal cyber police have arrested a key operative of a Cambodia-based call centre in connection with a Rs 58.1-crore digital arrest fraud last year that targeted a senior citizen couple in Mumbai.The accused, Riyaz Raja Sayyed (42), a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar district, was arrested on Monday after he landed at Delhi airport from Cambodia. Immigration officials detained him based on a lookout circular. He is the 33rd accused to be arrested in the case. Police have found that the fraudsters ran a pan-India and transnational network. Police said the call centre was operated by by absconding accused Prince and Sumi. The probe revealed that Sayyed impersonated a CBI officer and facilitated the transfer of Rs 2.4 crore from the victims into an account of Junkie Enterprises Pvt Ltd. Police alleged that he personally transferred Rs 14.5 lakh to the accounts of two witnesses, from where the money was withdrawn by his relatives. The victims—a pharmaceutical businessman and his banker-wife—were kept under digital arrest for 40 days. They were shown videos of fake police stations, offices resembling those of CBI and ED, and mock courtrooms with actors dressed as policemen, judges and lawyers. The couple even received forged summons on fake CBI and ED letterheads, which convinced them that their bank accounts were under scrutiny for alleged money laundering. Under pressure and fear of arrest, they transferred their entire savings—Rs 58.1 crore—believing the funds would be reimbursed after the "probe". —S Ahmed Ali