Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jul 27: In a major breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime, the Economic Offences Branch (EOB) of the CBI has arrested three individuals linked to the laundering of Rs 3.81 crore in a single day through a mule account in Mumbai.

The accused — mule account holder Sudhir Bhaskar Palande, middleman Yash Thakur, and cyber operator Shaurya Sunilkumar Singh — were apprehended following an intensive investigation. The funds, traced to cyber fraud victims, were received in the mule account on July 2 and rapidly redistributed through a complex network of accounts.

Mule accounts, often opened with or without the knowledge of the account holder, are commonly used to move illicit funds and obscure their origin. In this case, the CBI found that the laundered amount was funneled into over a hundred first-layer mule accounts across India before being further spread to thousands more — a tactic designed to hide the money trail.

The probe uncovered how middlemen in Nagpur facilitated the mule account opening in Mumbai and arranged accommodation for the account holder. The agents and the mule account holder reportedly received their commissions in cryptocurrency, which was later distributed among other co-conspirators.

The investigation also revealed gross violations of banking protocols — including Know Your Customer (KYC) rules and risk assessment procedures — by both bank officials and agents, suggesting deeper collusion.

CBI teams seized crucial evidence during searches, including mobile devices, transaction records, KYC documents, and digital data, shedding light on the layered and coordinated structure of the fraud.

The arrested individuals have been remanded to judicial custody, as the CBI continues to unravel what appears to be part of a broader, organized cyber fraud network operating across India.