Later in the day, the caller contacted the retired officer again through a video call and told him that his name was on the list of suspects in a money laundering case. He also warned the victim against leaving home and discussing anything about it with any other person. “A ‘senior officer’ contacted the elderly man on Nov 22, stating that an order for his arrest had been issued and he might be in jail for 90 to 180 days. The caller also told him that members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) had been arrested and they had opened the bank account in his name for money laundering,” the officer said.He said the retired officer received a bogus court notice issued in his name on Nov 25. The caller then asked him about his bank balance and told him that he needed to deposit the money with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The criminal allegedly promised to return the money within three days. “Between Nov 28 and Dec 4, the victim transferred Rs1 crore to the different bank account numbers provided to him,” he said.The officer said when the elderly man did not get his money back till Dec 7, he tried to contact the bogus police officer. But the latter’s cellphone number was not reachable. He then realised that he was duped and approached the police. “Investigations so far revealed that the victim’s money was transferred to bank accounts in Vadodara in Gujarat, Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu,” the officer said.
