An 81-year-old businessman from Belagavi lost Rs. 15.45 crore after cyber fraudsters kept him under a fake “digital arrest” for weeks. Posing as CBI and RBI officials, they used forged documents and threats to force him to liquidate investments. Police have frozen Rs. 90 lakh and launched a probe into one of Karnataka’s biggest scams.

An 81-year-old businessman from Belagavi, Karnataka, has lost over Rs. 15.45 crore to cybercriminals who kept him psychologically hostage for nearly six weeks under the guise of a so-called "digital arrest" one of the largest such frauds reported in the state this year.

The trap: Naresh Goyal, Fake CBI badges and forged documents

The victim, identified as Ajit Gopalkrishna Saraf, received a call on February 5 from a person claiming to be a senior CBI officer named K. Siva Subramanyam, who alleged that Saraf had dealings with former Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and was implicated in money laundering. The Hindu reports that the caller produced fake documents purportedly issued by the CBI and the RBI vigilance cell. The fraudsters claimed the victim had received a Rs. 5 lakh commission for laundering Rs. 25 lakh, and that complaints had been filed against him for illegal financial activities.

A second fraudster, posing as George Mathew from the RBI vigilance wing, soon joined the calls. Together, they pressured Saraf to furnish details of his fixed deposits and equity investments, and coerced him into liquidating his FDs and stock holdings with Motilal Oswal. Throughout the ordeal, the fraudsters assured Saraf that all transferred funds would be returned once the "investigation" was concluded.