Cybercrime Lien on Bank Account: What to Do

One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.

Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies. Names, the city and the bank below are changed, and the facts are cut down to what actually matters legally.

What happened

The phone call came first. A man from a cyber crime police station, asking him to come down the next day about a complaint he had never heard of. He said yes, put the phone down, and then spent the evening trying to work out what he had done.

The notice, when it arrived, said less than the phone call. It asked him to appear. It carried a complaint number and mentioned a bank account. It did not say what he was supposed to have done, and it did not say whether the police were treating him as a witness or as an accused.

His account had already stopped working by then. The bank told him there was a lien on it and that only the police could lift it. He had not replied to the notice in writing, and by the time he called a lawyer he had missed the date on it.

That is close to the whole of the story. We have one side of it. The complaint sitting behind that notice is somebody else's account of what happened, and I still have not seen it.

Key facts at a glance

• A notice from a cyber crime police station asking him to appear on a stated date.
• No indication in the notice whether he was a witness or a suspect.
• A lien on his bank account placed before the notice reached him.
• No written reply to the notice, and the date passed.
• Nothing in the papers described the transaction the police were asking about.

What a notice like this actually means

Two very different documents arrive looking almost identical, and people treat them the same way. That is the first mistake.

One is a notice to a witness — a person who may know something about a case — requiring attendance so a statement can be recorded. The other is a notice of appearance served on someone the police would otherwise be entitled to arrest. Before July 2024 that second kind of notice came under Section 41A of the CrPC. The BNSS carries the same scheme forward, and the section number has moved.

The difference matters because your legal position, your right to silence and the question of whether you need bail all turn on which one you have received. If the notice does not make it clear, you or your lawyer can ask the investigating officer in writing. Officers usually answer that question. They are less willing to answer "what have I done", and they are not obliged to.

I have received a cyber crime notice — what should I do first?

Read the date. That is the only part of the document with a deadline attached to it.

Then, before that date, send a short written reply to the investigating officer. Not a defence. Not an explanation of your life. Two lines: acknowledging the notice, confirming you will appear, and, if the notice is unclear, asking whether you are being called as a witness or as an accused. Keep a copy and a receipt.

Do not send a long email setting out your version of events. Anything you write to the police is a document that will be read back to you later, and the version you write on day one, without knowing the complaint, is the version you will be held to.

If you cannot attend on the given date, say so in writing before the date and ask for another. Turning up unannounced three weeks later is a different thing from asking in advance.

Why the account was frozen

Police investigating a fraud can seize property, and bank accounts have been treated as property for this purpose. In practice a lien or a "hold" is placed on the account, sometimes at the request of the complainant's bank, sometimes on the strength of a complaint alone.

Getting it lifted is a separate exercise from the criminal case. The first step is a written request to the investigating officer, with the account number, the transaction in question and proof of your identity and source of funds. If that does not move, an application can be made before the court hearing the matter. Courts have been reluctant to let accounts stay frozen indefinitely, but how long it takes depends entirely on the officer and the court.

One practical point. Open a second account elsewhere before the first one becomes unusable, because salary credits and standing instructions do not pause while this is sorted out.

Appearing at the police station

Go. Not going converts a manageable problem into a warrant, and a warrant is harder to undo than a notice.

Take your lawyer if you can. If the notice has come from another state, ask in writing whether you can appear through counsel or by video, and whether the investigation can be conducted where you live. Some officers agree. Some do not, and then you travel.

At the station, answer the questions you understand. If you do not know something, say you do not know. Do not guess at dates, amounts or people in order to seem cooperative. Read anything before you sign it, and if a statement is recorded, ask for a copy.

Will I be arrested?

For a notice-of-appearance matter, the whole point of the notice is that arrest is not considered necessary at that stage. That can change if you do not appear, if the officer forms the view that you are influencing witnesses, or if the investigation turns into something more serious.

If you have reason to think an arrest is coming, anticipatory bail is the remedy. The power that used to sit in Section 438 of the CrPC now sits in the BNSS under a new number. It is a High Court and Sessions Court power, and it is worth moving on before the arrest rather than after.

On the substance, the sections that usually appear in these matters are the cheating provisions of the BNS — Section 318, with the punishment in sub-section (4) — and, where a computer or a phone was used, Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

What to take with you

• The notice, in original, and the envelope or email it came in.
• ID proof and address proof.
• Bank statements for the period the police have asked about.
• Whatever documents show where the money in question came from or went.
• A written note, for yourself, of what you intend to say — not to hand over.
• A copy of any reply you have already sent to the officer.

How long this takes

Longer than anyone wants. A first appearance is a day. Statements, notices to produce documents and follow-up visits run into weeks. Lifting a lien can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and if it needs a court application, add the time it takes to get a hearing.

If a chargesheet is filed, the case moves to court and the timeline changes again — appearances spread out over months, with the trial itself often years away. Nobody can give you a date at the first meeting, and anyone who does is guessing.

When there may be nothing to argue

Sometimes the money did pass through the account. Sometimes the account was used by someone else, but the account holder knew. On those facts there may be very little to contest, and the honest advice is to focus on why it happened, what was recovered, and whether the complainant can be compensated — not on a defence that the transaction never took place.

Cheating is compoundable, but only with the permission of the court. That is a route, not a right, and it does not automatically end the investigation.

On the other hand, if the money moved through an account that was not yours to control, or was taken from you by someone who has since disappeared, there is usually something to work with. Which of these you have depends entirely on documents you have not yet shown anybody.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to send us

If a notice has arrived and you are not sure what it is, send the notice itself — a clear photograph or scan, both sides, including the date of issue and the date of appearance. Add two lines on what happened, and a copy of the bank statement for the period mentioned. If a lien has been placed, say so and give the date.

You can reach the chamber through /contact-us or book a slot at /book.

Chamber No. 86, Lawyers' Chamber, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi – 110001. Phone +91 97295 06771. Email me@sudhirrao.com. The chamber handles criminal defence, cyber crime and economic offences; family and matrimonial matters are handled by Adv. Jyoti Rao, Bar Council of Delhi D/891/2023.

One thing worth saying plainly. If your account was frozen and the money genuinely moved through it, there may be nothing to argue on the transaction itself, and the work shifts to why it happened and what can be returned. That is a harder conversation than most people want at the first meeting, and it is better had early. Send the notice, one bank statement and two lines. That is enough for the chamber to tell you which kind of case you have.

This is general information about Indian law and is not legal advice on your own situation. Every notice, every account and every complaint is different, and nothing here should be acted on without a lawyer reading your papers.

Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India

Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal advocate in Delhi — Advocate Sudhir Rao appears in bail, trial and appellate matters before the Delhi District Courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.