CBI probing of bank officials, middlemen in ₹3.81 cr cyber fraud

The CBI arrested S Palande, Y Thakur and S Singh in July, and the fourth person, identified only as Neeraj, this month

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun probing a few bank officials and middlemen as part of its investigation into a cybercrime case involving the receipt of ₹3.81 crore from multiple defrauded victims into a mule account.

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The CBI arrested S Palande, Y Thakur and S Singh in July, and the fourth person, identified only as Neeraj, this month. Neeraj allegedly convinced co-accused Palande to open the mule account at a private bank, according to agency sources. The other two were private agents.

The funds of ₹3.81 crore, considered the proceeds of the crime, were deposited into this account and subsequently diverted to 100 other mule accounts on the same day, July 2. Then it was transferred to more accounts across the country—an effort by the fraudsters to obscure the money trail and evade authorities. The CBI registered a First Information Report (FIR) in July.

The mule account was in the name of a courier and cargo company. “The account was opened without any proper adherence to the Know-Your-Customer norms, due diligence or initial risk assessment,” a CBI source said.

Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines were allegedly violated by the accused, the source said. The agency is scrutinising several materials, such as documents, digital evidence, mobile phones, iPads, bank account opening documents, transaction details, and KYC documents, among others, seized in the case.