The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three men for allegedly siphoning off Rs3.81 crore in a single day through online fraud using mule accounts, officials said on Sunday.
The arrested include mule account holder Sudhir Bhaskar Palande and agents Yash Thakur and Shaurya Sunilkumar Singh, who have been sent to judicial custody.
According to officials, the arrests followed a tip-off that led to a case against the mule account holder, unidentified cyber scammers, and some bank officials for facilitating the cybercrime on July 2.
A mule account is a bank account used by criminals to transfer illegally obtained funds. In this case, the stolen Rs3.81 crore was initially dispersed into over 100 mule accounts across India. From there, it was routed through thousands of additional accounts to hide the trail before reaching the main fraudsters.
During the probe, the CBI uncovered a conspiracy involving bankers and middlemen who opened mule accounts without following proper KYC norms, due diligence, or risk assessments, in violation of RBI guidelines.
The agency seized extensive evidence, including digital devices, bank account documents, transaction details, and KYC papers.
Investigators identified individuals involved in opening mule accounts in Mumbai, arranging stays for account holders in Nagpur, and transferring funds via agents in Nagpur. It was also revealed that commissions for agents and mule account holders were paid in cryptocurrency and shared among co-conspirators.
The CBI continues to track the network to identify the remaining individuals involved in this sophisticated cyber fraud.
