Hyderabad: Four individuals were arrested by the Cyberabad Cybercrime police on Thursday, February 26, for facilitating cyber fraud transactions by opening and operating mule bank accounts on fake business establishments.
Two individuals, Jawwad Qadri Rifai, 28, and Mohammed Naushad, 26, were held for providing mule accounts whereas Pamula Pranavaraj, 46, and Shankar Rathi, 51, employees at Jubilee Hills Mercantile Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd, were held for facilitating the opening and handing over operational control of the account to the fraud syndicate.
According to the police, Jawwad and Naushad, looking to earn easy money, conspired with one Mohd Anas Khan and other associates to provide bank accounts for cyber fraud operations.
They rented a place at Pahadi Sharif, created a fake rental agreement in the name of ‘Star Agro Industries’ and submitted forged business documents to open a current account.
Then, with the involvement of sales manager Pamula Pranavaraj and branch manager Shankar Rathi, opened a joint current account at Jubilee Hills Mercantile Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., which is affiliated to Yes Bank.
After opening the account, all banking credentials, including ATM card, cheque book, passbook, SIM card and internet banking access were handed over to fraudsters to use in cybercrime transactions.
Police found that Rs 6,67,565 was credited into the said account in October 2025 in connection with online fraud activities, and account holders received commissions from the fraudulent proceeds.
Subsequently, the accused went into hiding to evade arrest. They were arrested by Cyberabad police on February 26.
Pamula Pranavaraj and Shankar Rathi also reportedly admitted to opening more than 30 mule accounts in that branch.
Further investigation is in progress to trace other associates and to identify additional victim transactions routed through the said account. Efforts are being made to trace and freeze further proceeds of crime.
Adivisory
Cyberabad police has asked people not to share or lend their bank accounts, SIM cards, or Know Your Customer (KYC) documents for monetary benefits, as such acts amount to serious criminal offences and aid organised cyber fraud networks.
Meanwhile, bank employees have been asked to strictly adhere to KYC norms before opening any account and to ensure proper verification before providing bank accounts or banking access to any third party.
Failure to exercise due diligence may result in employees being implicated in criminal offences.
To report cybercrimes, the public can dial 1930 or reach out through the official website.
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