The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched coordinated searches at 42 locations across five Indian states—Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh—as part of its ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime under Operation Chakra-V.
Acting on specific intelligence, the agency is targeting organised cyber fraudsters who have been opening approximately 8.5 lakh mule bank accounts across more than 700 bank branches nationwide.
“Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) acting on specific source information and after verification has launched coordinated searches at 42 locations across 5 States namely Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh as part of Operation Chakra-V to deal with the menace of mule bank accounts being opened by organized cyber fraudsters”, CBI said in an official statement.
These accounts have been used to facilitate a range of digital scams, including impersonation, fraudulent advertisements, investment frauds, and UPI-based financial frauds, enabling the transfer and withdrawal of illicit funds from victims’ accounts.
According to the CBI, the operation has uncovered the involvement of bank officials, agents, aggregators, bank correspondents, middlemen, and e-Mitras who allegedly facilitated the opening of these mule accounts by circumventing KYC norms, customer due diligence, and risk assessment procedures.
The agency has registered a First Information Report (FIR) alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents, and criminal misconduct by bank officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
During the CBI raids, investigators seized incriminating documents, mobile phones, bank account opening forms, transaction details, and KYC records. So far, nine accused—including middlemen, agents, aggregators, account holders, and bank correspondents—have been arrested for their roles in the conspiracy.
The CBI emphasised that the crackdown is part of the Government of India’s firm commitment to dismantle the infrastructure supporting cyber-enabled financial crimes.
“These mule accounts are a critical component in the operation of digital arrest scams and other cyber frauds, and their disruption is vital to safeguarding public interests,” officials said.
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