Retired state govt official loses Rs2cr to crooks after arrest threat in money laundering case

Pune: A retired Maharashtra govt official (70) from Erandwane filed a complaint with the cybercrime police on Wednesday stating that some online fraudsters duped him of over Rs 2 crore between Jan 13 and Feb 4 by threatening him with arrest in a money laundering case.According to the police, the fraudsters impersonated officials from the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI) and falsely accused the victim of communicating with members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), calling his actions suspicious.
Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the cybercrime police told TOI that the suspects claimed that the victim's phone number had been used to cheat people of Rs 1.5 crore and alleged that he was involved in terror-related activities linked to the PFI. "The fraudsters repeatedly video-called him while posing as officials from DPBI, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Delhi police, threatening him with arrest," the officer said.Shinde said citing transactions of Rs 1.5 crore, the fraudsters forced the Erandwane resident to disclose details of his two bank accounts. "While speaking to him, the fraudsters also inquired about his wife and forced him to disclose details of his wife's bank account too," the officer said.The FIR stated that the fraudsters misled the victim by claiming that the case was being heard by the Supreme Court and that he could be arrested at any time. "The fraudsters told the victim, who retired from state govt's rural development department, that they had the power to suppress the case against him if he paid them," she said.Following this, the victim transferred Rs 2.02 crore to nine different bank accounts provided by the fraudsters from his and his wife's bank accounts. "He exhausted all his retirement benefits and had to break his fixed deposits to pay the fraudsters," Shinde added.