Telangana Cyber Crime Police have uncovered a large interstate cyber fraud network involving transactions worth ₹3.7 crore and arrested a 33-year-old general store owner Mohammed Ashfaq from Telangana. Police said Ashfaq allegedly rented out his bank account to cybercriminals for commission turning it into a key channel for routing illegal funds linked to online frauds across India.
Investigators found that Ashfaq’s account appeared in at least 29 cybercrime cases nationwide including 12 cases registered in Telangana. The account was allegedly used to move money from online stock market and trading scams. Ashfaq was arrested in connection with one such case where a victim was cheated of ₹49.9 lakh. Police said Ashfaq had met fraud operators in New Delhi and knowingly allowed his account to be used in his presence for online trading related frauds. The funds were later transferred through internet banking to several other accounts to create layers and delay detection. A senior officer called it a classic mule account setup and said “Once money lands in such accounts, it is rapidly moved through multiple channels to distance the end beneficiaries from the original crime.”
The case surfaced after a victim reported a WhatsApp based investment scam. According to the complaint the victim was first contacted by a woman identifying herself as Meena Bhat who claimed links to an investment group. He was then added to a WhatsApp group and directed to an internal portal where members were encouraged to invest. To gain trust the victim invested ₹2 lakh and was allowed to withdraw small profits. Over time he transferred larger sums to multiple bank accounts. The fraudsters later claimed an IPO allocation exceeded the invested amount and demanded more money. When the victim refused he was blocked and all communication stopped.
Police traced the money trail and linked Ashfaq’s account to 29 cases involving online trading frauds and investment scams. Officials warned that renting out bank accounts is a serious crime and said “Allowing your bank account to be used by others is not a minor lapse—it makes the account holder an active participant in serious criminal conspiracies.” Investigations are continuing to identify other account holder’s money mules and the main operators and more arrests are expected.
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