Pune: An Aundh-based consultant (60) with an electrical and pipe manufacturing firm lodged a complaint with the Pune cyber police on Friday, stating that cybercrooks duped him and his wife of Rs 1.18 crore between March 13 and April 22 after threatening to arrest them in a terror funding case.The Pune cyber police registered a case of cheating against the cybercrooks on Friday. The complainant also said that the crooks posed as officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).According to the police, the fraudsters contacted the complainant on a messaging application on March 13 and claimed to be the officials from the ED.They told him that a large sum of money had been transferred from his bank account to that of the PFI, a banned organisation in India. They further claimed that the money had been used by terrorists to fund activities in the country, the police added.The fraudsters then informed the consultant that the case was also being probed by the NIA and RBI, alleging that funds had been laundered for terrorist activities.Swapnali Shinde, senior inspector of Pune cyber police, told TOI, “Subsequently, the suspects demanded details of his Aadhaar card and bank accounts. During one of the video calls, they noticed the consultant’s wife and sought her details as well. They threatened to arrest her as well in the matter.”“The fraudsters then sent a fake arrest warrant with the names of both husband and wife on it and continued to threaten them with arrest. They claimed that the arrest would bring bad name for the family,” Shinde said.According to the FIR, the fraudsters then promised to settle the charges against the couple in exchange for money. The consultant subsequently transferred Rs 1.18 crore to seven bank accounts operated by the fraudsters.
