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Bengaluru Bust Uncovers Vast Mule-Account Network as Police Freeze Rs 240 Crore

Investigators link the scheme to a Dubai-based handler using rented accounts to convert fraud money into cryptocurrency.

Overview

  • Bengaluru police arrested 12 people, including a mother–son duo accused of operating about 4,200 of nearly 9,000 mule bank accounts, and seized 242 debit cards, 58 phones, gold and cash.
  • Officials say the network is tied to hundreds of cybercrime cases nationwide, and a lookout notice names alleged Dubai-based handler Prem Taneja who remains absconding.
  • Investigators cite fake trading and betting apps, including Swamiji.com and the Neo System app, with requests sent to shut the platforms and evidence of satellite phone use to mask communications.
  • Delhi’s IFSO unit arrested five suspects in a ‘digital arrest’ case that extracted over Rs 2.19 crore from a 78-year-old, and police logged a fresh complaint from a businesswoman who lost Rs 6.9 crore under similar coercion.
  • The CBI took over a Munirka ‘digital arrest’ case involving Rs 1.64 crore on Supreme Court directions, as separate complaints detail large losses in investment scams, including Rs 5.63 crore in Pune and Rs 1 crore in Thane.