Mihaaru reports that the victim is a 70 year old man and the culprit responsible for orchestrating the scam is his grandchild.
A case was lodged with police on February 13 concerning MVR 1.8 million being stolen from an individual's Maldives Islamic Bank account. Within 48 hours, police identified four suspects and made three arrests.
Most of the stolen funds were held in bank accounts, while some funds were recovered through physical searches. Through the investigation, the police found out that the stealing of the money had been conducted with careful planning and organization.
Money from the victim's account was transferred to the accounts of three individuals. One of these recipients got a total of MVR 1 million through five different transactions.
This, however, is only the first layer of the scam.
HIs money was transferred between own accounts and then transferred back in a bid to layer the the scam transfers, a tactic often used in such fraudulent transactions.
In addition to transfers to other accounts, purchases from several businesses were also made. Approximately MVR 90,000 was spent on electronic gadgets, birds, and other such purchases. MVR 700,000 was left in the account for his expenses.
MVR 800,000 was transferred to the second suspect's account. Money was sent from the first suspect's account to that of the second suspect. Then the money was again sent to another account to roll it. The money to the third suspect was transferred by this individual. MVR 1.5 million was deposited to the third suspect's account.
The third suspect carried out POS payments worth MVR 16,000 from this money. MVR 100,000 was withdrawn through an ATM. MVR 300,000 was transferred to other accounts.
Police said that the money had been siphoned out of the victim's account by using the OTP and other information received on his phone. This was done during prayer times, when the victim went to the mosque for prayers. The transactions were made over a period of 9 days this month.
Arrested in this case are a 24 year old woman, a 24 year old man, and a 23 year old man. Also suspected of involvement is a 16 year old child.
While details have not officially been revealed, Mihaaru reports that the victim is a 70 year old man and the culprit responsible for orchestrating the scam is his grandchild. They said the accused woman originates from Haa Alif Atoll Hoarafushi, while the men are from Haa Alif Atoll Molhadhoo and Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Hoadhehdhoo. All have close relationships with the 16 year old boy, reports say, although further details are not offered at this point.
Meanwhile, Police have further confirmed that despite some of the funds having been used for purchases in shops, police were able to recover the money with the cooperation of the businesses involved.
The money held in the accounts of the suspects are;
- MVR 800,000 in Suspect 3's MIB account
- MVR 200,000 in Suspect 1's MIB account
- MVR 80,000 in Suspect 2's account
- MVR 100,000 in Suspect 3's BML account
- MVR 1,600 in Suspect 1's BML account
- MVR 5000 in Suspect 2's BML account
Sign In