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New Delhi, October 26: Fraudsters found new ways to scam people and throw the police for a loop by transporting stolen money using an ancient banking system called "Angadia". Several culprits operating in a large chain spanning multiple states were identified using this system to split money and transfer it without a trace online. It all started when a nursing officer received a call. Debjani Das Choudhary, working as a nursing officer in Delhi's government hospital, answered a call from a scammer who said that her name appeared in a money-laundering case linked to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. The caller posed as a police officer who instructed her to transfer money for "verification", as reported by Indian Express. Debjani Das Choudhary, unaware of the scam, sent INR 7 lakh to the bank accounts shared by the scammers. Viral Video: Cars From PM Narendra Modi’s Convoy Seen Getting Cleaned at Local Car Wash Station in Bihar’s Samastipur, Claim Netizens. Debjani Das Choudhary Put Under WhatsApp Surveillance In the name of investigation, the fraudsters put Debjani under WhatsApp video surveillance and duped her into transferring the amount, DCP (West) Sharad Bhaskar said after a case was registered. Delhi Police cyber investigators pursued the fraudsters for months and discovered that they were using the century-old banking system called "Angadia". The informal courier system, used by jewellers and traders to move valuable items including cash, was now being used by the scammers. The police followed the trail and Inspector Vikas Buldak's team found that the INR 7 lakh of Debjani Das Choudhary was split into different accounts – 30% transferred to a Muthoot Gold Loan account in Jharkhand and 70% to an SBI account in Gujarat's dairy hub in Surendranagar. Police Tracks Money Trail in Gujarat, Apprehends Two Culprits A police investigator said that the trail stopped there without any further traces in crypto or fund transfers. However, when CCTV evidence from a Gujarat branch revealed a man withdrawing the entire amount via self-cheque, he was identified by the police as Soyebbhai Multani, a 24-year-old tractor salesman who became the first major lead in the case. Based on the CCTV footage, the police identified the culprit but did not find any digital tracks of the money. Instead, the team found that the cash was passed using an informal system to an Angadia courier. The searches led the police to Jharkhand and Gujarat states. The police discovered that Soyebbhai Multani and his elder brother Aslambhai, who ran a local daily business, allegedly offered "mule accounts" to the fraudsters to receive laundered money for a 2–4% cut. In Debjani's case, it was INR 14,000 to INR 28,000. The investigators found that informally operated Angadia networks built on trust within trading families were used to transfer lakhs of rupees without any formal banking trace. The "mule accounts" were opened legally but were used for illegal money transfers, police added. Soyebbhai and Aslambhai were arrested earlier this week along with Jitender Kumar in Jharkhand. Police officers seized their three mobiles and five SIM cards from them. What Is Bio-Baiting? Know About The Subtle Yet Toxic New Dating Trend That’s Making Modern Love More Exhausting. Police Still Tracing Angadia Courier Who Carried Cash The Home Ministry's cybercrime portal received 14 similar complaints, investigators revealed, spanning multiple Indian states. The same method of Angadia transfers was used by the fraudsters. DCP Bhaskar said that further analysis and technical investigation helped in identifying and arresting the people involved in the mule account arrangement and withdrawing funds. They transferred the funds via the Angadia system for a commission, he added. Amid this, police are still tracing the missing cash and the Angadia courier who carried it.
