New Delhi: The investigation into the ‘digital arrest’ of a 70-year-old woman who had lost Rs 7 crore has revealed that the money was initially transferred to bank accounts in three states before being re-routed through nearly 3,000 mule accounts.The three primary bank accounts were located in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. They were opened in the names of shell companies, which investigators suspect were created solely to route and conceal illicit funds. The money was first systematically layered through around 2,000 mule accounts, which later expanded to nearly 3,000. “Once the money entered the shell company accounts, it was rapidly distributed across thousands of mule accounts, making the probe lengthy and complex,” an officer said.
The largest amount, Rs 4 crore, went to the Chhattisgarh account. Police managed to put Rs 2.85 crore out of Rs 7 crore on hold.Sources revealed that investigators also identified cash withdrawals from multiple locations across the country. Frequent withdrawals were traced to Ludhiana in Punjab and Jodhpur, Ajmer and Sirohi districts in Rajasthan. Police believe these locations were chosen deliberately to avoid pattern detection and swiftly convert digital transactions into cash. The woman, who lives alone at Greater Kailash-I, received a call on Jan 5. The caller claimed a SIM card issued in her name was being used for fraudulent activities. She pleaded her innocence, but the caller firmly told her that either she or her children were on the wrong side of the law, sources said.She was soon shifted to a video call and asked if there were other people in the house. She said her husband was no more and the children lived in Gurgaon and Australia. When the scammers learnt that a domestic help came to the house daily, they instructed her to shut the gate and not tell anyone about the call. Over the next few days, the fraudsters gleaned through her financial assets. After learning that she had around Rs 7 crore in fixed deposits, they posed as Mumbai Police officers and levelled false laundering charges against her, before adding to the call their accomplices who posed as ED fficers. The woman was kept under constant surveillance through a second mobile phone. She was forced to carry out three transactions — Rs 4 crore and Rs 1.3 crore on Jan 9, followed by Rs 1.6 crore on Jan 12.
