Three mule account operators held for routing over Rs 1.22-crore cybercrime proceeds: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police has arrested three persons from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for allegedly providing mule bank accounts for routing over Rs 1.22-crore proceeds in separate cyber fraud cases involving fake IPO investments, digital arrest and forex trading scams, an official said on Saturday. Police said the cyber cell and crime branch cracked three cyber fraud cases in which victims were duped through fraudulent financial schemes via social media groups, fake websites and impersonation. In the first case, registered on May 30, 2025, a resident of east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar was allegedly cheated of around Rs 46.66 lakh through a fake stock market and IPO scheme. According to police, the frauds lured the complainant into investing money by displaying fake profits and promising high returns. During investigation, police traced Rs 6.71 lakh of the cheated amount to a bank account belonging to a Surat-based firm. The authorised signatory of the account, identified as Rajesh Ratnabhai Hadiya, was arrested from Gujarat. Police said Hadiya allegedly provided the bank account on commission basis for routing fraudulent online transactions. The account was found linked to three complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), including the present case. In the second case, registered on April 14, the complainant was allegedly kept under prolonged ''digital arrest'' by cybercriminals posing as officials of the Mumbai Crime Branch, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Police said the accused instilled fear by showing forged FIRs, fake Supreme Court and ED documents, fabricated arrest warrants, and levelling false accusations of money laundering linked to misuse of the complainant's Aadhaar. ''Under fear of arrest, the victim transferred Rs 36.19 lakh into multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters,'' a police officer said. During investigation, Rs 5.90 lakh was traced to accounts linked to a firm in Rajasthan's Kota. Police arrested Musaveer Khan, who allegedly operated multiple bank accounts through a financial consultancy setup for routing cheated money on commission basis. The accounts were linked with four NCRP complaints, including the present case, the officer said. In the third case, registered in November 2025, a resident of Delhi's Gagan Vihar Extension was allegedly duped of Rs 40.12 lakh in a fake forex trading scam via social media. Police said the victim was initially allowed small withdrawals to gain confidence, but later asked to deposit additional charges and taxes for release of larger amounts. The official said Rs 8.82 lakh of the cheated amount was credited into the account of one Shubham Rathore, who was arrested from Bhopal. Police said suspicious credits worth Rs 1.38 crore were detected in his account between October and November 2025. The account is allegedly linked in 15 cybercrime complaints on the NCRP portal. During interrogation, Rathore disclosed that he had sold the bank account to another person for Rs 50,000 on commission basis, police said. Further investigation is underway to identify others involved in the cybercrime cases, they added.