Authorities in Patna have arrested three men linked to a cyber fraud network that exploited ordinary bank accounts across multiple states, laundering approximately Rs 25 crore through a modus operandi involving rented mule accounts.
Patna cyber police have arrested three men, including a Rapido driver, in what investigators say is part of an inter-state cyber fraud network that rented out bank accounts to help move stolen money. According to local police, the men were paid a commission for allowing fraudsters to use their accounts, turning them into what investigators describe as money-transfer conduits for online scams.
Dsp-cum-station house officer Sangita Kumari said the accused – Prabhakar, Amit and Deepak – were taken into custody after officers traced suspicious transactions through their accounts. Police said the men were receiving between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 for each unlawful transfer, a low-level but important role in a wider chain that helps criminals hide the trail of funds.
Investigators said the accounts were linked to cyber-fraud transactions worth about Rs 25 crore, and that complaints had already been filed against them on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in several states. The finding fits a broader pattern seen in Bihar, where police have repeatedly uncovered so-called mule accounts used to route scam proceeds, including earlier cases in Patna and Muzaffarpur in which bank accounts were rented out for a commission and later tied to large numbers of complaints.
Police are now trying to identify the wider syndicate behind the operation and determine how many others were involved. The case also underscores how cybercrime groups continue to depend on ordinary account holders willing to lend their banking details for quick cash, even as investigators build a more coordinated response across state borders.
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