Navi Mumbai cyber fraud: 2 booked for opening mule bank accounts to route scam money

NAVI MUMBAI: Two separate FIRs have been registered at the CBD-Belapur and Vashi police stations against two men for allegedly opening 'mule' bank accounts to receive proceeds of cyber fraud and transfer the money to cyber criminals.Technical analysis by the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) team and an examination of the money trail by cyber police revealed that one of the accused, Harsh Ankush Nimbalkar, a resident of Sector 15, Sanpada, had allegedly opened a bank account at the Vashi branch of a nationalised bank with the help of his associates. Between December 12 last year and January 1, he allegedly received Rs 61.74 lakh from victims of cyber fraud before transferring the amount to bank accounts operated by cyber criminals.According to information obtained from the NCCRP, Nimbalkar's bank account was linked to 31 cyber fraud complaints registered in different states across the country. The Vashi police booked him under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating, dishonestly inducing the delivery of property, and dishonestly receiving or retaining stolen property knowing or having reason to believe it was stolen.In a separate case, another accused, Rahul Ranjit Singh, a resident of Kopra village in Sector 10, Kharghar, allegedly opened a bank account at the Belapur branch of a private sector commercial bank. Police said that between December 17 and 18 last year, Rs 2.57 lakh from victims of cyber fraud was credited to his account, after which he allegedly transferred the money to cyber criminals after deducting his commission.The CBD-Belapur police booked him for allegedly assisting cyber criminals in the embezzlement and distribution of the crime proceeds and concealing criminal financial transactions.Arun Pawar, senior inspector of CBD-Belapur police station, said, "Prima facie, it appears that the accused Rahul Ranjit Singh is an active member of the organized cyber criminal gang. Hence, a criminal case was registered against him and other unknown persons who were handling the said bank account."