NEW DELHI: As part of a significant development under Operation Chakra-V, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted coordinated raids in seven states on Tuesday — Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan — as part of an ongoing crackdown on cybercrime syndicates that run mule bank accounts.
The agency apprehended three main accused persons for their suspected role in operating and maintaining mule accounts employed to divert proceeds of multiple cyber frauds. Searches, undertaken on July 16, resulted in the recovery of huge quantities of incriminating material such as mobile phones, KYC, bank account opening forms, and transaction records.
The fresh action follows the registration of a case by the CBI on June 25, 2025, against 37 accused individuals under IPC/BNS and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The accused were reportedly mule account holders, agents, and bank staff who had conspired with cybercrooks to open and use fake accounts to transfer, withdraw, and launder money earned through digital scams.
The agency had, in June, earlier conducted raids at 40 properties in several states on June 26 and 27, where 10 suspects involved in such operations were arrested. The current action is the second phase of a wider drive that seeks to dismantle the nucleus infrastructure of cybercrime gangs.
According to officials, the arrested accused played a critical role in running mule accounts linked to digital arrest scams, impersonation rackets, fake investment schemes, and fraudulent advertisements. CBI’s current approach targets the three primary pillars of cybercrime infrastructure — financial networks (mule accounts and illicit payment gateways), telecom infrastructure (illegal SIM card activations), and human resource syndicates often tied to international cyber slavery operations.
The agency noted that this multi-agency operation demonstrates the Government of India’s commitment to fighting cybercrime by removing the instruments and infrastructure that facilitate it.