Retired Bengaluru teacher loses Rs 24 crore in ‘digital arrest’, bank manager’s tip helps net 6 cyber criminals

“The accused had made Ramamurthy transfer money to 23 mule bank accounts in 26 transactions between February 10 and April 24,” said a police officer.

The woman, a retired teacher who earlier worked in Dubai, lives alone in an apartment, while her children live abroad.

The police said the fraudsters manipulated the victim into believing she would be cleared only after all her finances were verified. To help in the ‘verification’ process, Ramamurthy transferred Rs 24 crore to several accounts in multiple transactions. However, as the demand for more money continued, Ramamurthy approached the bank to pledge 1 kg of gold to avail a loan.

Suspecting something was wrong, the bank manager asked Ramamurthy about the need for the loan, but as she hesitated to share the information, he informed the police.

Later, Ramamurthy approached the police, who investigated the matter and found that the money was being siphoned by cybercriminals.

So far, the police have recovered Rs 1.60 crore of the swindled amount from 22 bank accounts, and efforts are underway to recover the remaining amount. During the probe, the police also found that the accused were operating from a 10×10-foot shop in Gurgaon.

During the investigation, the police, with the help of the National Cyber Reporting Portal (NCRP), were able to freeze several mule accounts used for laundering the proceeds of crime.