Kamal Ghorui
HYDERABAD: In a multi-state crackdown, Hyderabad police arrested 52 people – including 32 bank employees – for their alleged role in opening mule accounts linked to cybercrime. Cops claimed the bank officials were hand-in-glove with members of a cybercrime network involved in an over Rs 150 crore scam.Cops said the arrested bank officials were employed in 10 different financial institutions, including some public sector banks. They worked across different designations – relationship manager, KYC approver, clerk, probationary officer, field officer and others. Of the 32, six officials belonged to the same private bank. The others arrested include middlemen who facilitated the opening of mule accounts.The recent raids, conducted simultaneously across nine states – Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar – over the last one week, were based on leads secured during a similar interstate operation conducted across 16 states in Feb. Cops had then identified 350 bank accounts allegedly used to divert cybercrime victims’ money.“These accounts were linked to 850 cases across India, through which Rs 150 crore of victims’ money was transferred,” a Hyderabad cop said.“The latest week-long crackdown was focused on nabbing bank officials. These officials were found to have connived with cyber fraudsters in opening mule bank accounts,” said Hyderabad police commissioner V C Sajjanar.Cops recovered 26 mobile phones, 14 cheque books, 21 stamps and two pen drives from the accused.“In several instances, we found that accounts were opened without verification of customer credentials, enabling their misuse for fraudulent activities,” said a cybercrime cop, adding, “The accounts were opened by these bank officials despite knowing that the companies were either non-existent or staged at the time of field inspection. Some of the accused did this to meet monthly targets (of opening accounts), while others wanted to make financial gains.“
