A senior Union Health Ministry official was scammed of Rs 27 lakhs on the pretext of investing his money in the currency market, reported ANI, citing Delhi police officials. In the complaint, the victim
alleged that he was told by the fraudster that his money will double in a year. The incident dates back to 2023, when the accused approached and convinced the official to invest his money.
“Victim alleged that he informed him that he is investing & trading the money in the currency market, and he would return double the principal amount to the complainant within a span of one year. Hence, on this allurement and inducement, he agreed to give him an amount of twenty-seven lakhs,” Delhi police said.
A complaint was filed at the South district’s cyber police station on August 11, and the police have booked the accused under sections 308/318(4)/319/340.
The incident comes to light only a few days after three men, including one graduate from the London School of Economics, were arrested by a joint team of PS DBG Road and PS Cyber, Central District, Delhi Police, in connection with a money extortion case.
The group, who were traced to Thailand, used to scam people by extorting money through international WhatsApp calls and cryptocurrency payments. They pretended to belong to a notorious gangster to instill fear in their victims.
In a separate incident that took place in Mumbai on August 16, the police arrested four cyber fraudsters for allegedly duping a businessman from Mumbai of Rs 5.24 crore by posing as executives of a Dubai-based investment company.
The incident surfaced when the accused invited the victim to Dubai, only for the victim to discover that the company did not actually exist.
