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Hyderabad, Nov.25 (PMI NEWS): In a major crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crimes, the Cyber Crime Police of Hyderabad, along with the Commissioner’s Task Force (East Zone), arrested an eight-member gang involved in opening and supplying mule bank accounts to cyber fraudsters. The gang facilitated large-scale cheating of citizens by allowing fraudulent transactions through these accounts.
According to the police, the racket began in October 2023 when the prime accused, Poojari Jagadish, an auto driver from Boduppal, was lured by a fraudster from Rajasthan named Kannaiah. Jagadish initially opened accounts in his own name for a commission of Rs.10,000 per account. Encouraged by easy money, he later used the identity documents of family, relatives and friends to open multiple accounts across several banks, including Federal Bank, Karnataka Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank and Karur Vysya Bank.
As operations expanded, Jagadish roped in associates – Gurudas Sunil Kumar, Manideep, Parlapalli Nikhil, Battula Pavan, Polas Praveen, Bollu Balu and Balaji Nayak (a BDM at Karur Vysya Bank) — who helped source more individuals to open accounts. The gang handed over complete account kits, including passbooks, cheque books and ATM cards, to Rajasthan-based cyber fraudsters Kannaiah, Poonam and Ramesh, who are currently absconding. The gang frequently used Blue Dart courier services to deliver the account kits.
A detailed verification of seized materials revealed the massive extent of the operation:
Total mule accounts opened: 127; Total fraud amount credited: Rs.24,10,16,618 ; Total fraud amount debited: Rs.23,99,31,550 ; Frozen/available amount: Rs.16,31,155; Fraud amount linked to FIRs: Rs.1,60,56,201 ; NCRP petitions identified: 21
Police have connected the accused to cyber fraud cases in Telangana, Karnataka and Rajasthan, including cases registered at Vanasthalipuram, Rajendranagar, Yelahanka, Bhilwara and other areas. The seized items included 11 bank passbooks, 14 ATM cards, 12 cheque books, 2 notebooks with account details, 6 SIM cards, 30 courier receipts, 1 biometric device, 1 Samsung tablet and 8 mobile phones.
Authorities urged the public not to open bank accounts for others or share bank credentials, as such misuse can facilitate major cyber frauds and lead to criminal charges.
The arrests were made under the supervision of Ande Srinivasa Rao, Addl. DCP, Task Force, along with the Cyber Crime Police team. A special team has been formed to trace the absconding fraudsters from Rajasthan. (Pressmediaofindia.com)
