A Jalgaon man has been arrested for allegedly facilitating the movement of over ₹2.15 crore through mule accounts linked to a growing cybercrime syndicate exploiting online investment and job scams across India.
A 31-year-old man from Jalgaon has been arrested for allegedly helping a wider cybercrime network move money through so-called mule bank accounts, in a case police say involved more than ₹2.15 crore. Investigators believe the funds came from online investment traps, bogus part-time work offers and “digital arrest” scams, a growing form of fraud in which victims are pressured into handing over money or credentials.
Police said the probe began in August after several local account holders complained that their bank accounts had been frozen at three lenders. Checks on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the SAMANVAY system of the Ministry of Home Affairs linked the accounts to suspicious activity in multiple states. The account holders told investigators they had been persuaded to share their banking details by an acquaintance, who said the accounts would be used for a legitimate travel business.
The man arrested, identified as K.B. Sankhala, is said to have admitted during questioning that he recruited people to open current accounts and then passed them to a Mumbai-based associate known only as Tony. According to police, Sankhala received a commission of ₹40,000 for each account supplied. Maharashtra Cyber in Mumbai traced about ₹2.14 crore moving through the network between July 2024 and early 2025, with the money withdrawn through ATMs and cheques or routed through other beneficiary accounts to disguise its origin.
Police are now trying to identify the suspected organiser in Mumbai and other members of the group operating across the country. Similar mule-account cases have surfaced elsewhere in India in recent months, including investigations in Delhi that exposed commission-based account networks used in investment and job scams, underlining how organised fraud gangs continue to rely on ordinary bank accounts to move stolen money.
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