HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Cybercrime police arrested eight individuals for allegedly opening and supplying mule bank accounts to cyber fraudsters. Authorities seized 127 accounts, with Rs 24.1 crore credited and Rs 23.99 crore debited. About Rs 16.31 lakh remains frozen.
Officials said the accused used their own and others’ IDs to open accounts and sold complete account kits—including passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books, and login credentials—to fraud networks outside the state.
Three masterminds, Kannaiah, Ramesh, and Poonam from Rajasthan, remain absconding.
The racket began in 2023 when Poojari Jagadish (31), an auto driver from Boduppal, was approached by Kannaiah to open accounts for “gaming app transactions.”
Initially paid Rs 10,000 per account, Jagadish later opened accounts for relatives and friends, eventually roping in Gurudas Sunil Kumar (40), Poonam, and Ramesh. Additional members—Parlapalli Nikhil (29), Gunti Manideep (27), Battula Pavan (24), and Polas Praveen (29)—helped recruit account holders for Rs 1,500–Rs 3,000 per account.
Manideep later created his own network with Pavan and Praveen, aided by Balaji Naik (27), a private bank executive, to facilitate account openings. Kits were shipped to fraudsters via Blue Dart.
Police seized 11 passbooks, 14 ATM cards, 12 cheque books, two notebooks of account details, six SIM cards, 30 courier receipts, a biometric device, and eight mobile phones.