Vardhman Group chief S P Oswal recounts ordeal with cyber fraudsters: ‘Attended fake Supreme Court hearing over Skype, was kept under digital surveillance for 2 days’

Oswal, chairman-cum-managing director of Vardhman Group, the largest textile manufacturing group in the country, says he was also taken into “digital custody” by the fraudsters who posed as CBI sleuths. Oswal says they kept him under “digital surveillance for two days via Skype” as a “suspect in a money-laundering case”.

The ordeal that started on August 27 ended only when he refused to give them more money after transferring Rs 7 crore to their accounts. The FIR was registered on August 31.

In a conversation with The Indian Express, Oswal narrates how the crime unfolded and he was “convinced” by fraudsters to transfer Rs 7 crore.

Trai to CBI to Mumbai Police to ED: how the fraud started

Oswal says that on August 27 he received a call purportedly from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The caller threatened him that his services would be disconnected if did not press 9 on his phone keypad.

“I pressed 9 and it ended. However, after some hours, I received a call from one Vijay Khanna, who introduced himself as a CBI officer. He informed me that my involvement was suspected in the money-laundering case registered against Naresh Goyal (the Jet Airways founder arrested by the ED in money laundering case last year) and an investigation would follow. Thereafter they sent me some documents with the insignia of Mumbai Police,” said Oswal in his police statement.

The same day, on August 27, Oswal says he was taken into “digital custody” by the “CBI team” over Skype. “They also shared a written CBI order stating that I was being taken into digital custody,” says Oswal. “They then shared another document on WhatsApp which was a copy of 70-point surveillance rules. They repeatedly told me not to share anything with anyone as it would be a violation of surveillance rules and I could be imprisoned for 3 to 5 years,” he says.

“They immediately started my digital surveillance over Skype and said I could not leave the house without their permission. I never used Skype, nor knew how to. They created my Skype account and started digital surveillance. The next day on August 28, they informed me via WhatsApp that my case was now going to the Supreme Court and a draft petition was shared with me,” he adds.

“I remained under their round-the-clock surveillance for two days, including at night. They do and say things in such a way that one gets manipulated and believe what they are saying is true. They used to keep me under surveillance even in the night and I was told to keep my phone on the bedside and keep Skype on. I would not get proper sleep as someone watched over me all the time,” Oswal says.

The fake Supreme Court hearing

Oswal says that the next day, on August 28, he was informed that the case was now moving to the Supreme Court.

What happened in the next few hours was nothing short of a movie scene. According to Oswal and the FIR, a fake Supreme Court hearing was held over Skype by the fraudsters, in which one of them impersonated Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.

“On August 28, they informed me that there would be a hearing of the case before Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. At about 11.00 am they made a Skype call regarding the hearing in which a person impersonating Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud (though not visible) heard the matter and thereafter passed an order. They shared the copy of the order over WhatsApp. Since the order had stamps of different authorities, I believed it to be genuine. As per the order, I was directed to release the money into a Secret Supervision Account (SSA) by 28.08.2024 itself. They also extended my digital custody for one more day,” Oswal said in his statement.

Oswal says that he could not see the face of the fake judge. “He banged the hammer on the table twice and said ‘Order, Order, please present your case’. I thought he was actually Justice Chandrachud as they claimed,” he adds.

Oswal admits that after receiving the fake court order which said he should either transfer the money or face arrest, he started making transactions and transferred Rs 4 crore to the accounts of the fraudsters. By the next day, he transferred Rs 3 crore more, taking the total to Rs 7 crore.

“The fraudsters said that I was a co-accused in the money-laundering case registered against Naresh Goyal. I have never met him or spoken to him in my entire life. From the CBI, the ED to the Supreme Court, the fake documents from every authority issued in my name were shared within these three days. They were so well-written and stamped with such perfection that I believed them to be genuine. They also threatened me that I had some bank account in Canara Bank’s Mumbai branch which had financial irregularities. Later I realised it was all a fraud and I fell into their trap,” says Oswal.

How the alarm bells rang

Oswal says that on August 29, he started feeling unwell and had to move out for hospital visit, and that is when he shared the entire episode with his senior colleague Vikas Kumar, who flagged that it was nothing but a fraud.

“They were asking for Rs 2 crore more but I told them I was unwell and had to go to the hospital. I shared the entire ordeal with my colleague Vikas Kumar, who flagged it as a fraud. Later when I confronted the accused as they asked for more money, they threatened me with immediate arrest. They also sent a fake arrest warrant issued by ED Mumbai ordering my arrest within two hours. I said I would prefer to die in police custody but won’t transfer more money,” says Oswal.

Oswal said, “The accused manipulated me to transfer the huge amount by claiming that it would be duly returned once my name is cleared after investigation.”

On a lighter note, the octogenarian says, “My ordeal is nothing short of a movie script to make others aware of such fraudsters.”