Exclusive | Cambodia link, cash routed via NGOs: How Delhi Police cracked Rs 23-crore ‘digital arrest’ fraud

Police found that the fraudsters allegedly used certain NGOs to move the money around, by luring individuals with promises of a cut in exchange for sharing their bank account details, The Indian Express has learnt.

The incident came to light on September 19 when 78-year-old retired banker Naresh Malhotra, a resident of South Delhi’s upscale Gulmohar Park, filed a complaint with the Delhi Police’s IFSO (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations). The Indian Express previously reported that he had been placed under ‘digital arrest’, and that over six weeks, he had visited branches of three banks where he held an account, and transferred Rs 22.92 crore in 21 transactions to 16 bank accounts.

An FIR was lodged the same day, and a dedicated team was formed to apprehend the culprits.

The IFSO team has arrested five individuals — Ashok, Mohit, Amit, Samarjeet, and Kanakpal — from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand since the case was filed last month. They are aged between 25 and 45. Kanakpal, who was arrested from Uttarakhand last week, ran an NGO and a school in his village. Police said he was allegedly promised a share of the funds in return for his involvement.

“In this digital arrest scam, the syndicate members lured individuals associated with NGOs as they needed their bank accounts for large transaction amounts,” a police source said.

This is because the accused feel it would raise less suspicion as opposed to using a common person’s bank account.

Police said the NGOs were allegedly promised a significant percentage of the cheated amount in exchange for facilitating the transactions. “The fraudsters approached NGO members in a highly professional manner, even covering travel and other expenses related to the meetings,” the source said, adding, “involving NGOs in cyber fraud appears to be a new modus operandi adopted by these cyber fraudsters”.

According to sources, Malhotra’s money was routed through seven layers via 4,236 transactions; police have managed to unravel two of these layers with the arrest of the five men.

“The police team, with the help of banks, has managed to seize around 2,500 bank accounts that were used for transactions involving the cheated money. They have also frozen approximately Rs 3 crore so far,” sources said.

Of the five arrested, two acted as mediators between the fraudsters operating from abroad, while the other three were bank account holders. “There are over 50 individuals from across the country suspected to be involved in the alleged fraud,” the source said.

On Wednesday, all five accused were sent to judicial custody after they were produced before a city court. Police said teams are working to nab the other accused in the case.

As per police, Malhotra had received a phone call on August 1. The caller introduced herself as a senior official of a telecom company and claimed that his mobile number had been used for “fraudulent” and “illegal” activities. She later claimed that Mumbai Police officers were involved in the “probe” into the incident.

Malhotra then received multiple calls from fraudsters impersonating officials of the Mumbai Police, Enforcement Directorate, and Central Bureau of Investigation. The scammers had asked him to appear on video call every two hours and made him sign an “undertaking to maintain secrecy”.

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