Pathanamthitta (Kerala): Dr Geevarghese Mar Coorilos, former Metropolitan of Niranam Diocese of Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, has lost Rs 15 lakh in an online fraud. He has lodged complaints at Keezhvaipur police station and the cyber cell.
In his complaint, Mar Coorilos said that he received a video call on August 2, where the caller posed as an officer from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and accused him of being involved in a money laundering case related to a Mumbai-based man named Naresh Goyal. The caller showed him some forged documents and asked him to pay a fine in order to evade arrest.
"The caller had claimed that Mar Coorilos had an account in a bank located in Mumbai that was used for illegal financial transactions and also said that the victim used a separate SIM for this. Then he demanded money from the victim to prevent legal action against him. Thereafter, the victim had transferred money to two accounts in Delhi and Jaipur," an officer said.
"The video calls were made from two numbers, 8937011759 and 8958268313. The caller accused the victim of money laundering and had also threatened him of digital arrest. Frightened by the threats, Mar Coorilos complied with the demands," the officer added.
On August 3, the victim transferred Rs 13,31,186 from his account at Federal Bank in Mallapally to a Yes Bank account in Delhi. When asked for more money, he sent another Rs 1.70 lakh from his friend's Federal Bank account in Mavelikkara to an account of a Jaipur branch of Indian Overseas Bank.
Later, on realising that he had been duped, Mar Coorilos lodged a police complaint.
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