The accused were involved in procuring and supplying bank accounts to cyber-criminals for receiving and routing proceeds of online frauds.
The police arrested the accused during the investigation of a cyber fraud case in which Rs 2 lakh allegedly cheated from a woman in Kerala was traced to a mule bank account maintained with a private bank, police said.
According to investigators, scrutiny of the financial trail revealed that the account was part of a larger network that arranged bank accounts for cyber fraudsters operating in different parts of the country.
The police arrested Vijay Kumar, 31, the alleged kingpin, on June 14. Subsequently, Pradeep Kumar (42), Yatender Kumar (23), Mukesh (24), Vinesh (37), Gurbaj Singh (27), Aman (27), Suraj Yadav (24), Gaurav Nahar (22) and Laxman (33) were arrested.
During the investigation, the account holder of the bank account that received the cheated money was questioned. He allegedly told police that he had been introduced to one of the accused on the pretext of securing employment and was persuaded to open a bank account, which was later misused for cyber fraud transactions.
Investigators said the gang primarily targeted unemployed and financially vulnerable individuals by offering fake job opportunities and monetary incentives. Once the accounts were opened, the accused allegedly took control of the banking credentials, ATM cards, cheque books, registered mobile numbers and internet banking facilities.
These accounts were then supplied to cyber fraudsters for receiving proceeds of online scams. The accused also allegedly used POS machines, ATM cards and mobile phones to transfer and withdraw the fraud money in an attempt to obscure the financial trail and conceal the identities of the ultimate beneficiaries.
Police said all 10 accused have been produced before a court and further investigation is underway to identify additional associates, beneficiaries and cyber fraudsters who used the supplied accounts.
