Hyderabad: The Cyber Crime Police of Hyderabad, with support from the Commissioner’s Task Force (East Zone), dismantled an eight-member mule account gang. This gang enabled cyber fraud amounting to over ₹24 crore.
Gang used bank accounts to aid cyber criminals
The scheme began in October 2023, when Poojari Jagadish, an auto driver from Boduppal, was recruited by a fraudster named Kannaiah from Rajasthan. Jagadish initially opened bank accounts in return for ₹10,000 each. Encouraged by quick profit, he began using the identity documents of his family and friends to open more accounts.
These accounts were created across several banks, including Federal Bank, Karnataka Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, and Karur Vysya Bank. Jagadish later involved seven others. They were Gurudas Sunil Kumar, Manideep, Parlapalli Nikhil, Battula Pavan, Polas Praveen, Bollu Balu, and Balaji Nayak. This expanded the network.
Nayak, a development manager at Karur Vysya Bank, played a key role by helping source account holders. The gang delivered complete account kits passbooks, cheque books, and ATM cards to cyber fraudsters in Rajasthan via Blue Dart courier. These fraudsters, identified as Kannaiah, Poonam, and Ramesh, remain at large.
₹24 crore routed through 127 mule accounts
Investigators found the gang had opened 127 mule accounts. Fraudsters credited ₹24,10,16,618 and withdrew ₹23,99,31,550. Only ₹16,31,155 remains frozen. Police linked ₹1.6 crore to FIRs across multiple states and identified 21 related complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
Seized materials included 11 bank passbooks, 14 ATM cards, 12 cheque books, 6 SIM cards, 8 mobile phones, a biometric scanner, a Samsung tablet, two notebooks with account data, and 30 courier receipts.
Cyber fraud cases linked to this gang span Telangana, Karnataka, and Rajasthan. Locations include Vanasthalipuram, Rajendranagar, Yelahanka, and Bhilwara.
Officials warned the public against opening bank accounts for others or sharing credentials. They noted such actions could lead to criminal charges. A special team is actively working to trace the absconding suspects from Rajasthan.