Mohali: In a major crackdown on cyber crime, the Punjab Police state cyber crime division has busted a gang involved in operating mule bank accounts to route and launder fraudulent funds, arresting three persons from Mohali.DGP Gaurav Yadav said the accused have been identified as Gurjeet Singh, Raman Rai and Sukhdev Singh, all residents of Jalalabad in Fazilka district. The trio operated from a rented accommodation in Phase 5, Mohali, under the name, “Brother Traders”, where they facilitated opening and supply of current bank accounts for cyber fraud networks.Police teams have frozen approximately Rs 20 lakh in bank accounts linked to the gang. Other recoveries include 23 ATM cards, two laptops, seven mobile phones, five SIM cards, forged KYC documents, 14 cheque books, Udyam certificates, six stamps and cryptocurrency worth 5100 USDT.DGP Yadav said the accused had been active for nearly two years and earned around Rs 50 lakh as commission by supplying mule accounts, opened using forged and morphed documents. To avoid suspicion, the accused created a fake business set-up, frequently changing hoardings and displaying Ayurvedic products to present themselves as legitimate traders.A mule account refers to a bank account used by criminals to receive, transfer and layer illicit funds, often with or without the knowledge of the account holder. Sharing details, special DGP, cyber crime V Neeraja said the operation was carried out as part of an ongoing drive to dismantle “domestic hotspots” of cyber crime. Investigations revealed that the accused were directly linked to Chinese nationals to whom they supplied bank accounts and from whom they received payments in USDT cryptocurrency, through the messaging platform, Telegram.She added that data analysis through the Samanvay portal of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has so far linked these mule accounts to at least 24 victims of cyber fraud, with approximately Rs 26.65 lakh already placed under lien in various accounts.Police said further investigation is underway to analyse seized ATM cards and digital devices to identify more victims and uncover the wider network involved in the operation. An FIR was registered at the State Cyber Crime Police Station, Punjab on March 17. MSID:: 129701159 413 |
