Mumbai police have dismantled an international gang accused of renting and selling bank accounts to cybercriminals and operators of online gaming scams. The group, consisting of five members including a woman, is believed to have links to fraud networks operating from Thailand, China, Dubai, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
Following specific intelligence, Unit 2 of the crime branch raided an office situated near Kandivli (East) police station on Tuesday and arrested Vaibhav Patil, Sunil Paswan, Aman Gautam, Khusboo Sundarjulia, and Ritesh Bandekar.
During the raid, police recovered 50 passbooks from different banks, ATM cards, swiping machines, two laptops, and dozens of SIM cards. Investigators found that most of the seized bank accounts were opened in the names of slum residents but were controlled by other individuals. Authorities will examine whether proper KYC verification protocols were followed by the concerned banks.
A source revealed, “We received a tip-off that certain individuals were running an office to rent and sell bank accounts and SIM cards to unknown persons, which is illegal. A dummy customer was sent to verify the tip-off, and once confirmed, the raid was conducted.”
Investigations indicate that the gang specifically targeted economically vulnerable residents in slum areas, persuading them to open bank accounts with the promise of attractive payouts. In one instance, a daily wage worker from Dahisar was paid Rs 10,000 to open an account using his KYC documents. The accused then linked the account to their own mobile number for OTP authentication, enabling them to carry out large-scale transactions without the account holder’s knowledge.
Evidence suggests these accounts were used for massive transactions. Police are currently analysing the data to trace the masterminds. According to sources, the suspects supplied account information to cybercriminals abroad, who then used the details to commit offences such as “digital arrest” scams and online gaming frauds.
Police officials believe further arrests are likely. “We have just taken them into custody and are analysing the transaction records and SIM card usage. We are also trying to determine whether the account holders were aware of the misuse or were completely duped,” the source said.
Police suspect that the syndicate’s network extends beyond Mumbai, with possible connections to several overseas cybercrime operations.
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