Two branch managers at a privately held bank have been named in an investigation into a network of mule accounts that allegedly moved approximately Rs 7.3 crore in proceeds tied to cybercrime activity.
Custody has been taken of six individuals — among them Shobhit Aggarwal, who managed the bank's Saraswati Vihar branch — while Sushant Kumar, posted as branch manager at Tri Nagar, has not yet been located by authorities.
Investigators are additionally looking into digital currency transfers believed to be tied to the network, along with a possible link involving a national of China.
Investigators identified the irregularity while going through flagged account activity at the Tri Nagar branch. They determined that a number of account holders appeared to have no record of ever visiting the branch, and that residential details tied to multiple accounts could not be confirmed. A portion of those accounts had ties to cybercrime complaints that had been filed at various points across the country.
Seventeen additional accounts drew scrutiny as the scope of the inquiry broadened. Verification records submitted by officers indicated that identity photographs and KYC documentation had bypassed the mandated live-verification procedure, while a number of the listed addresses turned out to correspond to locations that do not exist.
Cross-referencing mobile numbers, email addresses, and associated devices pointed investigators toward Mayank Kapoor, whom authorities have named as the suspected operator behind the mule-account network. Police took him into custody at Baba Haridas Nagar.
Kapoor is reported to have told investigators that identity papers and photographs were gathered from casual labourers under the guise of facilitating loans, with those materials subsequently put to use in setting up bank accounts.
Prosecutors alleged that Aggarwal directed the opening of accounts on behalf of individuals who were never present, with fabricated signatures substituted for any genuine authorisation from those named holders. According to prosecutors, a connection was made between Kapoor and Kumar through him, with the scheme then taking hold across both branches.
Four members of the sales team — Manoj, Ankur, Fatma, and Pankaj — are said to have handled the account transactions, with sign-off coming from the relevant branch managers.
Investigators tied approximately 37 bank accounts — identified as possible channels for moving funds — to a total of 99 online fraud complaints lodged at various points across the country, with deposits passing through those accounts reaching around Rs 7.3 crore in recorded value. According to investigators, a portion of the funds was distributed among banking staff, with the remainder channelled into USDT digital currency via Trust Wallet.
Law enforcement took Aggarwal and the four sales staff members into custody once investigators had built a case backed by adequate evidence. Among the items officers seized were seven mobile phones, a laptop, seven cheque books, approximately 150 grams of gold, Rs 60,000 in cash, 55 passport-size photographs, 11 SIM cards, 63 Aadhaar cards, 60 PAN cards, and seven debit cards.
