A major cyber fraud operation in Jharkhand has been brought to light, with authorities arresting seven individuals involved in a scam worth approximately ₹30 crore. The criminals employed mule bank accounts as a core element of their fraudulent activities. This sophisticated scheme impacted many individuals, highlighting the growing threat of cybercrime.
The Jharkhand CID conducted raids across six districts: Ranchi, Lohardaga, Simdega, Palamu, Koderma, and Jamtara, leading to the arrests. The individuals were found to be operating across multiple states.
Roshan Kumar of Ranchi was found to have ₹10.02 crore in his account, with connections in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. Another Ranchi resident, Satish Kumar, had ₹6.2 crore linked to Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Jitendra Kumar Pappu, arrested from Jamtara, held ₹5.1 crore, with links to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi. Nurez Ansari from Lohardaga possessed ₹5.05 crore, with connections in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.
Pranranjan Sinha from Palamu had ₹1.06 crore linked to Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Rajasthan. Ganesh Chikk Badaik from Simdega held ₹3.02 crore with links to Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. Rajendra Kumar Saw from Koderma had ₹67 lakh linked to Delhi.
Seized evidence included phones, SIM cards, and ATM cards. The Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs played a vital role in identifying the fraudulent activity, revealing the use of 15,000 mule bank accounts. The CID subsequently registered a case against 40 accounts. The network of these criminals extended to several other states in India.
Mule accounts are used by cybercriminals to hide the money obtained through fraud. These accounts are opened in the names of other individuals. The money from fraudulent activities is then deposited into them. After the money is deposited, cybercriminals use UPI to quickly move the money from one account to another, making it difficult to trace the origin of the funds.