Mumbai police arrest one linked to cybercrime racket routing ₹7.42 crore through mule accounts
The accused opened bank accounts in their own names and in the names of other individuals across multiple banks and handed them over to cyber fraudsters to route money through, according to police
On August 9, 2026, the Khar police in Mumbai apprehended an individual connected to a cybercrime syndicate allegedly responsible for funneling ₹7.42 crore through 22 bank accounts. The arrest came after a complainant reported being defrauded of ₹4.07 lakh via a Telegram contact, who promised lucrative rewards for completing online tasks.
The victim was allegedly coerced into transferring funds to multiple accounts, but never received any profits or reimbursement. The police utilized technical analysis from the national Cyber Helpline and Samvaye Portal to identify the masterminds behind the scheme, Avinash Babasaheb Kharat and Vikas Gajanan Bhujbal. Upon interrogation, Kharat confessed to opening individual and joint bank accounts across various banks, which were then utilized by cyber fraudsters to route illicit funds, according to the police.
Out of the 22 accounts discovered, 13 were under Kharat's name and nine were registered to Bhujbal. Cross-referencing these accounts on the Cyber Coordination Portal revealed 42 complaints nationwide. The investigation confirmed that the total amount of transactions traced through these accounts amounted to roughly ₹7.42 crore. A case was filed at the Khar Police Station under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
The police are still probing other individuals engaged in supplying mule accounts, receiving stolen funds, and other financial activities.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
