Maharashtra Cyber Dept Announces Reward For Key Accused In ₹58 Crore ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam; Victim Lost Entire Life Savings

Mumbai, Dec 05: The Maharashtra Cyber Department has announced a reward on one of the key accused wanted in India's largest digital arrest cyber crime of Rs 58 crore. The agency officials have sought help from the public to trace the accused and have assured a reward on the information leading to his arrest.

Accused From Rajasthan Still Absconding

The wanted person has been identified as Devender Satyanarayan Saini, resident of Kekri, Ajmer, Rajasthan. "The accused played a key role in the crime and has been absconding since the registration of the case," said a police officer.

Modus Operandi: Fake TRAI & Crime Branch Calls

According to the police, in the instant case, the complainant received a call from an international number impersonating a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) officer. The caller alleged that the victim’s mobile number was being misused to send illegal messages.

The call was then transferred to another person posing as an officer from the Mumbai crime branch, who falsely claimed that the victim’s bank accounts were being used for money-laundering activities.

Under this fabricated narrative, the victim was told that to avoid a ‘digital arrest’, he must transfer funds to a designated account, which would be refunded after a so-called verification procedure.

Fake Police Station & Court Setup via Video Call

To lend credibility to the fraud, the accused orchestrated an elaborate fake police station and court proceeding via video calls, with other fraudsters impersonating police officials and even court judges.

According to the police, the victim, under fear and psychological pressure, transferred a total of Rs 58.13 crore over a span of 40 days, losing his entire life savings.

Massive Multi-Layered Money Trail

The cyber police initiated a multi-pronged investigation. Technical and financial trails were pursued simultaneously. Call detail records and internet protocol detail records of the fraudulent numbers were obtained and analysed.

The technical analysis revealed that the calls originated from foreign IP addresses routed through VPNs and TOR networks, confirming the use of sophisticated anonymisation techniques.

20,000 Mule Accounts Traced Across 13 Layers

On the financial front, analysis of banking transactions, KYC records, and statements of multiple linked accounts revealed a complex network of over 20,000 money mule accounts spread across 13 layers. These were predominantly current accounts opened in the names of shell companies to facilitate high-value transactions without scrutiny.

Through detailed financial forensics, the cyber police successfully traced the end beneficiaries of several of these accounts, leading to the arrest of seven accused persons.

Poor Individuals Used as Account Holders

These persons were directly linked to the fraudulent financial network, having either opened or operated money mule accounts in their names, received proceeds in the initial layers of transactions, or facilitated fund movement by sourcing and managing such accounts for the syndicate.

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The probe revealed that poor people were made mule account holders by scammers, and the scammers took control of their accounts to park money generated from the crime. In this case, the victim had visited his bank 27 times and made transfers worth crores of rupees, but the bank officials did not smell anything foul.

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