Rourkela Police on Sunday cracked down on an organised cybercriminal syndicate involved in a large-scale money laundering operation using “mule bank accounts.” The syndicate allegedly procured the bank details of local residents to open these accounts, which were then rented to cybercriminals across India and abroad for illicit fund transfer.
Police arrested four persons, including three employees from private banks—Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank—who are accused of assisting in the fraudulent account openings. The arrested are identified as Ajay Kumar Sah, Sitanshu Kumar Swain, Siba Sankar Pattanayak, and Prabhanjan Nayak, all hailing from the Rourkela area in Sundargarh district.
The gang, operating out of Rourkela, targeted unemployed youth and even petty criminals to arrange bank accounts, active SIM cards, and identity documents of unsuspecting locals, often relying on forged documents and impersonation.
“The gang recruited unemployed youth and fellow petty criminals in jail and asked them to arrange bank accounts, activate SIM cards and identity cards of unsuspecting individuals. They often use forged documents and impersonation. Most accounts were opened with the tacit approval and complicity of bank staff, bypassing standard Know Your Customer (KYC) norms,” revealed the Rourkela Police in a press release.
Rourkela Police Arrest 3 Bank Employees in Massive Cyber Fraud Linked to 1200 Fake Accounts
Cyber Gang Selling Bank Accounts for ₹8–10k Exposed; Rourkela Police Crack Major Cyber Fraud Network.@DGPOdisha @sprourkela pic.twitter.com/eMCfMSDNWA— DIG Western Range, ROURKELA (@digwrrkl) December 1, 2025
These activated mule accounts were rented or sold for a small fee of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per account to cybercriminals in states including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal (Kolkata). The accounts served as pass-through points for laundering money obtained from cybercrime victims.
Rourkela Police further revealed that the investigation points to international links. Given the volume of accounts opened with forged documents and without adequate scrutiny, the police also suspect the involvement of more bank insiders.
This marks the third mule bank account case registered in Rourkela this year. More than 60 cyber criminals have been arrested by the Rourkela Police in 2025 alone.
