BERHAMPUR: The cyber crime and economic offences wing of Berhampur on Sunday arrested a 51-year-old man and his niece for their alleged involvement in a racket that procured and managed mule bank accounts.
While the man was identified as Satya Narayan Dash of Goutamnagar in Nimakhandi, police refused to divulge the name of his 38-year-old niece.
The breakthrough came during the investigation of a cyber crime case lodged on November 26, 2025. Police found that more than eight mule bank accounts were being operated in the names of the accused’s relatives.
Police said the accused opened multiple bank accounts in the names of their relatives and handed over passbooks, ATM cards and cheque books to cybercriminals. These accounts were subsequently used to channel and layer illegally obtained money into the formal financial system.
Preliminary investigation revealed that around `1 crore was routed through these accounts over a period of nearly one year since 2025. The fraudulent transactions were processed through the eight identified mule accounts. Further probe suggested that the accounts were linked to cybercrime cases registered in over 30 police stations across India.
Police officials said investigation is underway to identify other members of the cybercrime network and trace additional mule accounts used in the fraud.