Three from Hyderabad held for supplying 83 mule accounts to cyber fraudsters; ₹10.05 crore siphoned off

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The gang in Hyderabad procured bank accounts with the help of local persons and allegedly handed over the account kits to Vijay and Babu Lal through courier. | Photo Credit: Satheesh Vellinezhi

A 24-year-old man and two others were arrested for procuring mule bank accounts and selling them to cyber fraudsters for ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 each, with police identifying 83 such accounts opened through their network across Hyderabad.

The accused were identified as 24-year-old Syed Abbas Ullah Hussaini, a waiter; 23-year-old Mohammed Talha Khan, and 20-year-old Nawab Mohammed Rahemuddin Khan, all residents of Shahgunj, Hussaini Alam. Two alleged associates, Vijay and Babu Lal of Jaipur in Rajasthan, are yet to be apprehended. Salman of Hussaini Alam and Anna of Mallepally were also named in the case.

The gang procured bank accounts with the help of local persons and handed over the account kits to Vijay and Babu Lal through courier. The kits contained account numbers, passbooks, ATM cards, ATM PINs, linked SIM cards and customer IDs. In return, the account providers received money.

The investigation found 83 mule accounts opened in 22 branches of various banks across Hyderabad. The accounts included 10 each at Telangana State Co-operative Apex Bank’s Charminar and Darussalam Co-operative Urban Bank’s Hussaini Alam branches, 13 at Agrasen Co-operative Urban Bank’s Begum Bazar branch and nine at Telangana State Co-operative Apex Bank’s Attapur branch, among others.

On checking the account details against the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, investigators found that 11 of the 83 accounts were used for 14 cyber fraud transactions reported from Hyderabad, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.

The police found that four accounts at Agrasen Co-operative Urban Bank, six at Telangana State Co-operative Apex Bank and one at SVC Co-operative Bank were linked to the identified cyber frauds.

The 83 accounts received about ₹10.05 crore through cybercrime-related transactions, with the money being withdrawn on the same day, according to police.

The Task Force seized eight Telangana State Co-operative Apex Bank passbooks and three mobile phones from the arrested persons. The accused and the seized material were handed over to Attapur Police for further action.

The police cautioned people against renting, selling, lending or sharing bank accounts, ATM cards, cheque books, SIM cards, UPI IDs or internet banking credentials with others for monetary benefits. They warned that allowing accounts to be used for illegal transactions could lead to account freezing, police investigation and criminal prosecution.

Anyone whose bank account is suspected to have been misused were advised to immediately inform the bank and report the matter through the cybercrime helpline 1930 or the official cybercrime portal.

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