NRI couple scam: Owners of five firms summoned

“We don’t know if the accused copied the company’s name or if the company officials are involved or if it’s a shell firm. Our investigation has revealed that many other companies, at least five, have been used in the case,” a police officer said.

Names of atleast five companies from different states have come up as part of the investigation in the “digital arrest” of an elderly couple in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash, police said on Monday. All the firms are registered and their owners are being summoned for questioning.

The couple was were duped of nearly ₹15 crore (Representative photo)

“We have found that one of the receiving bank account numbers is in the name of a Vadodara-based healthcare services company. We don’t know if the accused copied the company’s name or if the company officials are involved or if it’s a shell firm. Our investigation has revealed that many other companies, at least five, have been used in the case,” a senior police officer said.

The victim couple, 81-year-old Om Taneja and 71-year-old Indira Taneja, were duped of nearly ₹15 crore and were digitally arrested for 16 days. Police said around ₹1.4 crore of the defrauded amount has been frozen.

According to police, Indira was first contacted by the suspects on December 24, 2025, who introduced themselves as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. They told Indira that multiple complaints had been filed against her phone number. Over the next 16 days, the couple was allegedly threatened in the name of fake cases and money laundering charges. They were then made to send ₹14.8 crore over eight transactions in different bank accounts.

Investigators said some of the bank accounts are registered in the name of a chemical company, others in the name of factories from different states.