2 held as Bengaluru couple under ‘digital arrest' loses Rs 4.75 crore to ‘international cybercrime network'
The Bengaluru police Tuesday arrested two alleged money mules in a case involving fraud amounting to Rs 4.75 crore, following a tip-off from the cybercrime unit in Chennai that unravelled a sophisticated international cybercriminal network spanning India, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.
The accused have been identified as Eshwar Singh and Ramnarayan Chowdhary, both based in Hyderabad.
The Southeast Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) division's investigation began when investigators in Chennai, working on an unrelated cybercrime case, alerted Sarah Fathima, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bengaluru Southeast, about a potential victim in the city. Further probe allegedly led them to discover a meticulously orchestrated fraud that had been operating undetected for months.
The police found that a retired engineer and his wife from BTM Layout had been accused of money laundering and subjected to 'digital arrest' by the fraudsters since March, officers said. The elderly couple subsequently transferred money to various accounts, believing they were complying with legal procedures. 'They were unaware that they were being manipulated and had lost Rs 4.75 crore,' a senior officer explained.
DCP Fathima said the couple in BTM Layout has a son and a daughter. 'The son lives in Malleswaram, and the daughter is in Hebbal. They have not informed the children. They even pledged their property papers,' she added.
The breakthrough in the investigation came when the police traced Rs 10 lakh of the defrauded amount to a Hyderabad resident's bank account, the police said. When questioned, the account holder claimed he had accepted the money on behalf of his landlord, Eshwar Singh, a casino enthusiast who had already fled to Sri Lanka. Singh was later detained at Hyderabad airport upon his return, and taken to Bengaluru for questioning.
He, however, maintained his innocence, claiming the funds were legitimate casino refunds. The police verification, officers said, revealed that he had visited a Sri Lankan casino 33 times in recent months, including a visit during which he purchased Rs 25 lakh worth of casino coupons and lost Rs 15 lakh in gambling.
Due to irregularities in filing taxes, Singh had requested that the casino transfer the remaining refund to his tenant's account rather than his own. The casino, recognising him as a regular customer, complied with this unusual request.
'We suspect the cybercriminals who defrauded the elderly couple instructed them to transfer the funds to the same account Singh had provided to the casino,' the investigating officer said. Singh was later arrested.
The police said they are now investigating whether the casino has ties to international cybercrime networks, particularly with operations in Cambodia, where some investigative roots have been traced.
Officers said the probe also led to the arrest of Ramnarayan Chowdhary, a Hyderabad-based businessman who runs a departmental store. Investigators believe cybercriminals befriended him through regular purchases at his store before exploiting his bank accounts to launder proceeds from victims across the country
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