FIR against 4 for using mule a/cs to route cyber fraud proceeds

Lucknow: The cybercrime police station in Rae Bareli has registered a case against four people, including three alleged members of an inter-state cyber fraud syndicate, for operating mule bank accounts used to channel money obtained through online scams.

Investigators have found that the gang allegedly lured financially vulnerable individuals into opening bank accounts in exchange for commissions and then used those accounts to receive and transfer fraud proceeds.

The FIR was lodged on the complaint of sub-inspector Prashant Kumar.

The accused have been identified as Ramashankar, a resident of Barwa Ghorha Bhuwalpur Sisni village of Rae Bareli, Satyendra Kumar Verma of Surat Rural district of Gujarat; Pushpendra Singh of Kanpur Dehat; and Amit Singh of Jhunsi in Prayagraj.

The case came to light during an examination of suspected mule accounts flagged through the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) portal. During verification, investigators found that lakhs of rupees linked to cyber fraud had been routed through a bank account opened in Rae Bareli.

Police found that Ramashankar was facing financial difficulties and met Satyendra Verma, an acquaintance who allegedly introduced himself as a chartered accountant.

Satyendra reportedly convinced him that large companies looking to save GST would transfer money through a bank account opened in his name and that he would receive commission on every transaction.

Police said Satyendra later connected Ramashankar with Pushpendra Singh.

Acting on their advice, Ramashankar registered a firm and opened a current account in a private bank in Rae Bareli on March 17.

Police investigations revealed that between April 2 and April 3, around Rs 3 lakh was deposited into the account. In return, Ramashankar allegedly received Rs 8,000 as commission while the remaining amount was withdrawn and diverted by members of the syndicate.

Further scrutiny showed that nearly Rs 8 lakh linked to cyber fraud had been routed through multiple accounts associated with the network.

Superintendent of police, Rae Bareli, Ravi Kumar said a case has been registered at Dih police station and special teams have been formed to trace and arrest the accused.