Banker held for facilitating mule a/c linked to 159 cybercrimes

A bank deputy manager was arrested for aiding a mule account linked to 159 cyber fraud cases, facilitating transactions of nearly ₹68 crore.

A deputy manager at a bank was arrested for allegedly facilitating the operation of a mule account linked to 159 cyber fraud complaints across the country that routed transactions worth nearly ₹68 crore, police said on Wednesday.

Banker held for facilitating mule a/c linked to 159 cybercrimes

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Rajeev Kumar said the accused was identified the accused as a 42-year-old deputy manager at a cooperative bank’s New Kondli branch. Investigators arrested him after finding violations in Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and mandatory verification procedures while opening the account.

“The account surfaced during scrutiny of complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The account was allegedly used repeatedly to receive and transfer money cheated from victims in cyber fraud cases reported from different states,” Kumar said.

The account, maintained in the name of a company, was purportedly opened using the credentials of a man who told investigators he had no knowledge of the account being opened in his name, nor had he visited the bank branch or signed any documents. Verification established that his signatures did not match those on the account opening forms, police said.

Bank records showed the account opening process was approved by the deputy manager. “During interrogation, he admitted that he neither physically verified the firm nor visited the address mentioned in the account-opening documents,” Kumar said.

Analysis of the account revealed that transactions worth approximately ₹67.92 crore were credited and routed through it, police said, adding that the account was subsequently used for routing proceeds of cyber fraud on a massive scale.

Two mobile phones were recovered from the accused’s possession. Police said further investigation is underway to identify other beneficiaries, facilitators, bank accounts, and members of the larger cyber fraud network.