‘First lady of Afghanistan’ dupes 71-year-old of ₹5 lakh

The victim – identified as Rameshkumar Shah who works as an accountant in a few firms – told the police that he received an email on February 18 in which the sender identified herself as Rula Ghani, the first lady of Afghanistan. Incidentally, Rula Ghani happens to be the name of the wife of Ashraf Ghani, who was Afghanistan’s president from 2014 until the Taliban took hold.

Mumbai: A 71-year-old man from Andheri was duped of ₹5 lakh after falling prey to a cyber criminal who posed as the ‘first lady of Afghanistan’ and asked for help to invest $22 million in India.

After waiting for a week or so, Shah again tried to transfer the amount to his Indian account, but it didn’t get transferred. At this point, the alleged representative of Ghani said that he would send the amount to the complainant’s address. On April 4, a black man visited his house and handed him a bag claiming the entire money was in it. When the complainant opened it the next day, it turned out to be stacks of black paper cut into the shape of currency notes. (Image for representation)

The victim – identified as Rameshkumar Shah who works as an accountant in a few firms – told the police that he received an email on February 18 in which the sender identified herself as Rula Ghani, the first lady of Afghanistan. Incidentally, Rula Ghani happens to be the name of the wife of Ashraf Ghani, who was Afghanistan’s president from 2014 until the Taliban took hold.

Shah responded to the email a couple of days later asking what kind of help was expected of him. The sender replied that they were looking to invest $22 million in India and wanted Shah to manage her affairs here.

“She also said the entire investment amount would be sent to my accounts and I could keep 25% of it as commission. Attached with the mail were a copy of her passport, bank documents showing she had the money she wanted to invest as well as her picture. She also told me that her representative from Indonesia would soon contact me,” the complainant told the police.

A couple of days later, he received a WhatsApp call from an international number with the country code +62. “The caller identified himself as the representative of Rula. He said that I would have to open an account in an Indonesian bank to start the entire process. He asked me to send him documents like my PAN card, passport and some details of my salary account,” states the complaint, adding that Shah was also instructed to send $360 to open the said account.

Two days after sending out all the required documents to the caller, Shah was informed that he could now transfer the said amount to his Indian account. However, when he tried to do so, the transaction did not go through. “I contacted the caller again who told me there was some technical error that was hindering the funds’ transfer. He also said that some more processes were needed for making the transfers as it is an offshore account, which, too, I paid,” the complainant said in his statement.

After waiting for a week or so, Shah again tried to transfer the amount to his Indian account, but it didn’t get transferred. At this point, the alleged representative of Ghani said that he would send the amount to the complainant’s address. On April 4, a black man visited his house and handed him a bag claiming the entire money was in it. When the complainant opened it the next day, it turned out to be stacks of black paper cut into the shape of currency notes.

An officer from Andheri Police Station said that Shah ended up losing ₹5,09,000 to the frauds. “We have booked the unknown accused for fraud and the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. Further investigation into the matter is underway,” he said.