The City Crime Branch has arrested two more accused in connection with a Rs 1.60 crore money laundering scam, bringing the total number of arrests to six. The new arrests were made on Wednesday, following the confession of the previous suspects. The two new arrested individuals are Vivek Ranjan, alias Pintu Giri from Kheda, Gujarat, and Altaf Qureshi from Anand, Gujarat.
The scam, which involved threatening a 59-year-old woman, has left the victim emotionally distressed. According to her complaint, she received a call from individuals posing as CBI, RBI, and police officers. The fraudsters intimidated her by claiming that her accounts had been involved in a money laundering case and that she would be jailed if she didn’t comply. They also falsely informed her that a digital arrest was underway, where she would be taken into custody through video calls for investigation.
Frightened and confused, the woman provided her personal and bank account details to the fraudsters. The scammer, using the pretext of the investigation, instructed her to transfer money to a bank account under their control. Fearing legal consequences, the victim complied without informing anyone, transferring the Rs 1.60 crore as instructed.
The City Crime Branch began investigating after the woman came forward with her complaint. Initial arrests included Prateek Jariwal, Abhishek Jariwala (both from Surat), and Chandrabhan Bansal and Rakesh Bansal (from Maihar), who were apprehended a few days ago.
Following further interrogation, the authorities were led to Vivek Ranjan and Altaf Qureshi as additional accomplices in the scam. They were arrested on Wednesday, and the police are currently questioning them to uncover the involvement of other individuals in the crime. Investigators are also examining the bank accounts and digital traces left by the fraudsters to identify more victims and connections.