HYDERABAD: Cyberabad Cybercrime police arrested five persons for allegedly supplying bank accounts in bulk for cyber and betting frauds. The arrested individuals have been identified as Kanugula Venkatesh, Mogili Gopi, Kandrakonda Sai Ram, Angadi Arjun, and Panguluri Rajesh.
According to police, the prime accused, Venkatesh, who runs a textile shop in Old Alwal, became addicted to online betting platforms and incurred losses of around Rs 75 lakh. To recover the amount, he contacted betting app organisers on Telegram through groups such as Tamil Nadu Gaming Company, GDS Pay India Bank Account, and Red Pay Timoshy.
He was promised a commission for supplying bank accounts on a rental basis. Venkatesh initially provided his own business accounts to cyber fraudsters and earned nearly Rs 4 lakh at a 0.5% commission. Encouraged by the income, he involved his associates and opened multiple current accounts using fake shop registration documents, altering shop names to mislead bank officials.
They also opened accounts in the names of unsuspecting individuals by paying them Rs 2,000–Rs 3,000 per account. Net banking credentials were created and shared with Telegram handlers for cyber fraud and betting transactions.
The group also received APK files from cyber fraudsters to install OTP-forwarding applications. Commissions were routed through crypto wallets and bank accounts.
Another group from Andhra Pradesh reportedly helped source additional individuals to open bank accounts and shared credentials for commission. Account kits, SIM cards, and documents were moved through private travel parcel services and handed over to Telegram-based operators.
In total, the gang supplied more than 35 bank accounts for use in cyber and betting fraud operations.
Meanwhile, Cybercrime police detected five cybercrime cases between December 3 and 9, leading to the arrest of 11 offenders across multiple states, including the five held for supplying bank accounts.