Mumbai, The Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police has arrested two men through whose bank accounts proceeds of a digital arrest scam were allegedly circulated, an official said on Wednesday.
Faraz Zakir Sharif and Aman Khan had allegedly opened bank accounts in the name of bogus companies and allowed the fraudsters to use them, he said.
The North Region Cyber Cell found their role while probing a complaint filed by a 66-year-old city resident, the official said.
The complainant received multiple calls between December 12 and 19 from persons who claimed to be senior officials of law enforcement agencies and claimed that there was evidence linking him to a money laundering case.
They also claimed that a First Information Report had already been registered against him and he was being placed under ‘digital arrest’ at his residence.
Under the pretext of investigation, they persuaded him to transfer ₹10.35 lakh to certain bank accounts. After the complainant realized that this was a scam, he approached police.
During the probe, police found that the amount was first transferred to a bank account in Bengaluru and later distributed across four different bank accounts. It led to the arrest of Faraz Sharif and Aman Khan on Tuesday.
Sandeep Rao who allegedly impersonated a police officer, Mohammed Sageer Mohammed Haroon Shaikh, Asif Mohammed Nazeer Shaikh and several unidentified persons who allegedly received and laundered the amount through bank accounts have been named as want
ed accused in the case.
A special operation has been launched to nab them, said the official.
Notably, government authorities have clarified in the past that ‘digital arrest’ is a fraudulent tactic with no legal basis as no law enforcement agency is authorized to arrest or interrogate citizens via video calls.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.