Police unearth cyber fraud racket; bankstaffers among 6 held

The Delhi Police have busted a cyber fraud network involving 37 suspected mule bank accounts that received ₹7.36 crore in connection with 99 complaints registered across India. Six people, including five bankers, have been arrested, officials said on Friday.

The arrested bankers included Shobhit Aggarwal, branch manager of Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB Bank) in Saraswati Vihar, and four members of the bank’s sales team. The branch manager of the Tri Nagar branch, Sushant Kumar, has not yet been apprehended.

The sixth accused, Mayank Kapoor, 35, allegedly used forged signatures and KYC documents obtained from unsuspecting daily-wage labourers to facilitate the opening of fraudulent bank accounts. A portion of the proceeds was allegedly converted into cryptocurrency, officials said.

The investigation uncovered 17 suspected mule accounts at the Saraswati Vihar branch and 20 at the Tri Nagar branch of CSB Bank.

According to the police, the investigation began after scrutiny of mule account data identified the Tri Nagar branch as a suspected centre for opening such accounts.

“A preliminary inquiry revealed that the purported holder of one account had neither visited the branch nor applied to open it. The addresses linked to two other suspected mule accounts at the branch could not be verified,” a police officer said.

“A technical analysis of registered mobile numbers, email IDs, linked devices and email connections led investigators to Kapoor, who was arrested from Baba Haridas Nagar in Delhi,” the officer added.

During interrogation, Kapoor allegedly told the police that he had contacted daily-wage labourers over the phone on the pretext of loan approval and obtained their KYC documents and photographs through WhatsApp. He also arranged SIM cards in their names and used the documents, photographs and SIM cards to facilitate the opening of mule accounts, the police said.

The police said Kapoor came into contact with Aggarwal, who allegedly helped process the account applications. Aggarwal later introduced him to Sushant Kumar, the Tri Nagar branch manager.

The accounts were allegedly opened without the purported account holders being physically present, and forged signatures were used on the applications. The applications were processed by four members of the bank’s sales team — Manoj, Ankur Kumar, Fatma and Pankaj Pandey — and subsequently approved by the branch managers.

Aggarwal, Manoj, Ankur Kumar, Fatma and Pankaj Pandey were arrested on October 18. Kapoor had been arrested earlier during the investigation.

The police recovered 63 Aadhaar cards, 60 PAN cards, 55 passport-size photographs and 11 SIM cards allegedly intended for use in opening bank accounts. They also seized seven mobile phones, seven cheque books, seven debit cards, a laptop, ₹60,000 in cash and approximately 150 grams of gold jewellery.

Investigators also found that Kapoor used the Trust Wallet application to receive and transfer Tether (USDT), a cryptocurrency allegedly linked to the proceeds of crime.

The case has been registered under Sections 317(2), 317(5), 338, 336(3), 340 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is under way to identify others involved in the racket and trace the proceeds of crime.