Below is one of the court order in which the applicants account got frozen by cyber police station, Gurgaon and I personally went to court against the police officers action to remove hold on his bank account.
and court ordered bank manager to unfreeze the bank account immediately, here below is the copy of the order
Bank account freeze by Cyber crime P2P trading
Picture this:
you’re a seller, and a buyer approaches you on a P2P marketplace. The buyer transfers money to your bank account, and in return, you release your crypto. Seems straightforward, right?
But here’s the twist—the buyer is a stranger, an enigma lurking in the digital shadows. You have no inkling of their intentions or background. Now, let’s delve into the cryptic underbelly of P2P transactions:
The Innocent Exchange
Behind the Scenes: The Scammer’s Web
Suraj's Ruse:
The Impersonation Game:
The Unwitting Facilitator:
The Cyber Cell’s Intervention
The Freeze:
The Reality Check:
Decentralized Exchanges and Vigilance
Common Occurrence:
Protective Measures:
What is the Final situation
What did Radhika get?
There have been a lot of such cases recently.
Bank account freeze by Cyber crime P2P trading
First of All if your Account is Frozen by police due to any cyber crime complaint, then their is no need to panic if you haven't done anything wrong.
If your bank account has been frozen due to suspected cyber crime, here are some steps you can take:
Ambit of Power of Investigating Authorities
To understand the scope of powers that the investigating authorities possess to freeze a bank account, one needs to dive into the source of the power itself. This source can be traced to Section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
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The purpose of Section 102 of the CrPC is to secure the property which has been or suspected to be stolen or which has a direct nexus with the commission of a crime from being ‘disposed of’ or ‘destroyed’. Such a measure of seizing property ensures that the court is able to get back the property concerned. Section 102 of the CrPC falls under Chapter VII which deals with the ‘Processes to Compel the Production of Things’. The provision states:
Power of police officer to seize certain property.
Provided that where the property seized under sub-section (1) is subject to speedy and natural decay and if the person entitled to the possession of such property is unknown or absent and the value of such property is less than five hundred rupees, it may forthwith be sold by auction under the orders of the Superintendent of Police and the provisions of sections 457 and 458 shall, as nearly as may be practicable, apply to the net proceeds of such sale.
analysis of Section 102 of the CrPC and its related judicial pronouncements:
The phrase ‘any property’ referred in Section 102 of the CrPC will only cover moveable property and excludes immovable property. The use of the terms such as ‘seize’ and ‘produce’ as included in the provision indicate that the phrase ‘any property’ as used underSection 102 of the CrPC will apply only to moveable property.
The property must have a connection with the commission of a crime.
For the purpose of Section 102 of the CrPC, the property must be either:
a. Alleged or suspected to have been stolen; or
b. Have a nexus between the property and the commission of the crime.
Bank Accounts Fall Within the Phrase ‘any property’.
When considering the issue of whether ‘bank accounts’ fall within the scope of Section 102 of the CrPC, it was held by the Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra vs. Tapas D. Neogy [2 (1999) 7 SCC 685] that even bank accounts fall within the phrase ‘any property’ under Section 102 of the CrPC and could therefore be frozen by the investigating authorities, if found to have direct links with the commission of an offence.
Therefore, investigating authorities can freeze bank accounts if the deposit in the account is stolen money or the account is connected with an alleged offence which is under investigation.
Further, to invoke Section 102 of the CrPC, particularly to freeze a bank account, there must be a reasonable suspicion of the involvement of the bank account with the commission of a crime. It will be upon the investigating authority to satisfy that there exists sufficient material to show that the amount in the bank account is connected with the alleged offence. The property must not only have a close link to the alleged crime but the officer must have reasonable grounds to believe such a nexus exists.
Freezing of the bank account must be ‘forthwith’ reported to the concerned Magistrate.
The most often contravened condition under Section 102 of the CrPC is the requirement to apprise the Magistrate of the seizure of the property. Section 102(3) of the CrPC clearly mandates that “[e]very police officer acting under sub-section (1) shall forthwith report the seizure to the Magistrate having jurisdiction”. The violation of this mandatory condition is what often allows the courts to direct the de-freezing of bank accounts.
Remedies
Before the Investigating Authority
By way of an amendment,31 Section 102(3) of the CrPC allows the investigating authority to decide whether to return custody of the seized property if it finds that the continued retention of the property is not necessary for the purpose of investigation but conditioned on the person executing a bond undertaking to produce the property before the Court when required.
The Supreme Court in Teesta Atul Setalvad and Ors. vs. The State of Gujarat and Ors., [(2018) 2 SCC 372] clarified that:
“at an appropriate stage or upon completion of the investigation, if the Investigating Officer is satisfied with the explanation offered by the Appellants and is of the opinion that continuance of the seizure of the stated bank accounts or any one of them is not necessary, he will be well advised to issue instruction in that behalf.”
I Personally Don't recommend this way because if you Visit the police station to Join the Investigation or to help police officer by Explaining your Version, First he will not listen to you, he will not be interested to understanding your version, He will treat your as a suspect/ accused. And to get bribe amount he will threaten you to arrest. Their has been many case where my client call and said they have given so and so amount as bribe to Investigation officer but their account is still freeze. So better to choose the right and official way i.e. via Court.
Before the Magistrate
Though such a means as mentioned above exist, parties are often forced to approach the court. In this regard, a remedy available to the parties is to approach the concerned Magistrate under Section 451 or Section 457 of the CrPC. Courts have allowed for de freezing of bank accounts on the direction that the party execute a bond for the concerned amount before the Magistrate and produce such amount if so directed by the Magistrate. Section 457 of the CrPC empowers the Magistrate to deliver the seized property to the entitled person. Even for de-freezing of a bank account an application under Section 457 of the CrPC is maintainable.
Via Court you account can be unfreeze in 10 -15 Days Maximum (Depends upon court to court)
Before the High Court
Another remedy invoked by the parties is the writ jurisdiction of the High Courts on the basis of violation of right to livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution and/ or the seizure is arbitrary and hence violative of Article 14. Since writ jurisdiction is an extraordinary remedy, the Court may reject such a writ petition on the ground that an effective alternative remedy in the form of a statutory remedy is available under Section 451 and 457 of CrPC and decline interference for non-exhaustion of such remedy.High Courts may find it appropriate to direct the Petitioner to approach the Magistrate under Section 451 or 457 of the CrPC, rather than to hear the matter on merits under a writ jurisdiction.
The provision of Section 102 has a wide compass and is not limited to recoveries during the search alone, nor is it restricted minutely to the cases in regard to cognizable offenses. The bank accounts like any other property is freezable as freezing the account is an act of investigation and this act surely commands and behooves secrecy to preserve the evidence and it does not deprive any person of his liberty. The bank account must be protected from dissemination, depletion or destruction by any mode and it would be absurd if the accused is allowed to operate his bank account or to close or to withdraw or transferred the money from the same bank account which is suspected of having been used for the commission of the offence. For meeting the ends of justice, the discharging of such powers by police on suspicion is necessary but seizure of bank account by police under Section 102 must be backed by suspicion and necessary evidence pointing towards the suspicion during the pendency of investigation.
JUDGEMENTS
Remember, each case is unique and the resolution will depend on the specific circ*mstances of your case. It’s always recommended to consult with a legal professional for advice on specific cases.
if your Bank account is frozen then please visit your bank and ask branch manager about reason of Freeze on your account, if it is because of cyber cell then ask him to provide you below mention details
And if their are multiple agencies who requested to freeze the account information of all such agencies
if he deny any of the information to be given then you can contact me, our team has successfully unfrozen more than 1,50,34,752 /- Rs. from more than 200+ accounts across India with the help of Courts as on date 29th April 2024.
You can also ask for copy of NOTICE U/S 91/102 CRPC INDIA from Bank as sample shown below
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