An eight-member gang, including a private bank official, who opened more than 120 bank accounts for mules and supplied them to cyber fraudsters operating outside the state, was arrested on Tuesday in a joint operation by the Cyber Crime Branch of the Hyderabad Police and the East Zone Commissionerate Task Force.
The gang provided cybercriminals with sets of bank accounts, enabling large-scale online fraud and defrauding people in many states. The total value of transactions routed through these accounts is more than ₹24 crore.
Those arrested were identified as Poojari Jagadish alias Jaggu, 31; Gurudas Sunil Kumar, 40; Gunti Manideep, 27; Parlapalli Nikhil, 29; Bollu Balu, 21; Battula Pavan, 24; Paul Praveen, 29; and Bilavath Balaji Naik, 27. Meanwhile, three, including Kannaiah, Ramesh and Poonam, all natives of Rajasthan, are currently on the run.
Investigations revealed that the scheme started in October 2023 when the auto driver Poojari Jagadish met a passenger named Kannaiah from Rajasthan while he was driving his car in Chilkalguda. After learning about Jagadish’s financial problems, Kannaiah allegedly offered him ₹10,000 in a bank account for gambling-related transactions. Jagadish agreed, opened an account using his Aadhaar and PAN and handed over his passbook, ATM card and credentials. Encouraged by the ease of making money, he later opened several more accounts in the names of his wife, mother, relatives and friends in various banks, including Federal Bank, Karnataka Bank, Utkarsh Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Mahaveer Bank, Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Karur Vyshya Bank.
As the operation expanded, Jagadish teamed up with his relative Sunil Kumar and began recruiting more. They eventually got in touch with Poonam and Ramesh and also involved Nikhil, the delivery man, and Manideep, the auto driver, who were dragged in and paid between ₹1,500 and ₹3,000 per bill. Further, Manideep contacted Poonam and formed his own group with Pavan and Praveen, continuing the illegal activities.
One of the accused, Balaji Nayak, a business development manager at Karur Vyshya Bank, allegedly helped facilitate the opening of bank accounts. All sets of accounts, including ATM cards, pass books and check books, were sent to the escaped fraudsters through courier services.
During the raid, the police seized 11 passbooks, 14 ATM cards, 12 check books, 30 courier packages, six SIM cards, notebooks with account details, biometric devices, tablets and eight mobile phones.
Investigation revealed that the gang had opened 127 bank accounts. Transactions amounting to ₹ 24,10,16,618 were credited to mule accounts out of which ₹ 23,99,31,550 were debited. Only ₹16,31,155 remains frozen. The scam was linked to at least 21 petitions and cases on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) in Telangana, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, police urged people not to open bank accounts on behalf of others or share personal login details, warning that such actions could be used for cybercrime. A special team has been formed to track down the absconding accused.
Published – 25 Nov 2025 18:52 IST
