Cyber Heist: Textile Baron Loses Rs 7cr To Fake CJI

The fraudsters conducted a Skype call, masquerading it as a legitimate Supreme Court order. I was directed to release all my funds into this account - SP Oswal

Bengaluru: This may sound like a movie plot wherein a sophisticated cybersecurity heist is executed with precision. Ironically, this is a true story that too involving high profile personalities like the Chief Justice of India (CJI), a textile baron and a bunch of cyber frauds.

What can be termed as one of the most audacious cybersecurity thefts in India, some imposters posing them as Chief Justice of India and other legal luminaries robbed an 82-year old textile baron of Rs7 crore in a virtual court proceeding. The scam came to light when a case of cyber fraud was filed with Punjab Police recently.

SP Oswal, Chairman of leading textile company Vardhaman Group, was a victim to a well-orchestrated plan of imposters, in which he was charged with fictitious money laundering charges. These charges were levelled in a virtual court room in which the fraudsters posed them as federal investigators. To make the court room real, even one imposter posed himself as Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, presiding over the proceedings.

The whole proceedings were conducted over Skype and Oswal was coerced to transfer the fund, which was claimed to be a ‘secret supervision account’ for aiding the investigation. He was threatened with immediate arrest for failing to do so, forcing Oswal to comply with their demands.

“The fraudsters conducted a Skype call, masquerading it as a legitimate Supreme Court order. I was directed to release all my funds into this account,” Oswal told the police in his statement.

According to reports, the fraudsters presented fake documents that were striking in details. A false arrest warrant, bearing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) monogram and stamps of the ED and Mumbai Police, was served to Oswal. The documents also included the signature of a supposed ED official named Niraj Kumar, reports said.

The Supreme Court order sent to Oswal looked authentic, complete with the court’s emblem, bar code, and digital signature, which closely resembled those used in real court orders.

The fraudsters also placed Oswal under what they called ‘digital arrest’. The imposters claimed that Oswal was a suspect until their investigation concluded and warned him not to discuss the matter with anyone, citing the National Secrets Act.

The industrialist was also put under 24-hour video surveillance and asked to carry his phone everywhere, even when leaving his room, so that his movements can be monitored by the fraudsters.

Post Oswal’s complaint, police launched an investigation and an amount of Rs5.25 crore has so far been recovered from three accounts with the assistance from the cybercrime coordination centre under the Union Home Ministry.

Two suspects, Atanu Chowdhury and Anand Kumar, were arrested in Guwahati, Assam, reports said, while hunt for arresting others is still on.

Such digital scams involving threats of investigation and arrest are on a rise across India. In May, the government blocked over 1,000 Skype IDs for their involvement on such scams.