Kolkata, 01 October (H.S.): The Jalandhar zonal unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a major breakthrough in the Rs 7 crore 'digital arrest' extortion case involving renowned Ludhiana-based industrialist and Vardhman Group Chairman SP Oswal, by arresting the prime accused, Sohel Akhtar alias Raju, from Kolkata. The arrest was executed following search operations in Kolkata on September 28 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In a statement released on Thursday, the ED stated that after securing a transit remand from a local Kolkata court, the accused was taken to Jalandhar, where a special PMLA court remanded him to ED custody until October 6.

The central investigating agency is now preparing to interrogate him in custody to ascertain his exact role in the crime and to piece together the entire money trail.

This sensational fraud took place in August 2023 when cybercriminals, posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers, placed industrialist SP Oswal under a 'digital arrest' and extorted Rs 7 crore from him. The ED initiated its money laundering probe based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Ludhiana Cyber Crime Police Station. The scope of this investigation also encompasses nine other FIRs related to similar 'digital arrest' frauds orchestrated by the same cyber syndicate. The probe revealed that the extorted money was initially transferred into the bank accounts of M/s Rigglo Ventures Private Limited and M/s Frozenman Warehousing and Logistics. The accounts of Frozenman Warehousing were being operated by Rumi Kalita of Guwahati and Arpit Rathore of Kanpur, both of whom were previously arrested in December 2025.

The ED investigation disclosed that Sohel Akhtar was the primary operator of the bank accounts associated with M/s Rigglo Ventures. Akhtar acted as the principal handler, deceiving individuals and arranging fake 'mule' bank accounts in the names of various persons and entities. A specialized APK application named 'AMMFORWARD' was utilized to manage these accounts. The probe found that this APK file was pre-loaded on multiple mobile phones used in conjunction with SIM cards linked to Rigglo Ventures. Through this technological setup, their associates based in Nepal could directly receive OTPs and other SMS messages on their devices, enabling the swift and seamless routing of the extorted funds from one account to another without any hindrance.

The investigation further clarified that the defrauded amount was routed through numerous mule accounts in small tranches ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, followed by immediate cash withdrawals. These bank accounts were opened by targeting economically vulnerable and needy individuals with false promises of providing loans or jobs. Furthermore, end-to-end encrypted messaging applications were used to share the details of these fake bank accounts with foreign associates. Accused Arpit Rathore provided such mule accounts to scammers based in Cambodia and Vietnam, receiving commissions in the form of cryptocurrency in his Binance account in return. The ED has already provisionally attached assets worth Rs 1.76 crore in this case and has filed a prosecution complaint against Rumi Kalita, Arpit Rathore, Anand Chaudhary, Atanu Chaudhary, and Frozenman Warehousing.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh