Senior officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Financial Services and senior officials of public sector banks held a coordination meeting on Monday (December 22, 2025). | Photo credit: PTI
Senior officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Financial Services and senior officials of public sector banks held a coordination meeting on Monday (December 22, 2025) to review and expedite investigations into bank fraud.
The meeting, held in Chennai, focused on the backlog of cases being investigated by the CBI and ways to strengthen inter-agency coordination. The misuse of mule bank accounts in cyber fraud and steps to curb these practices were also discussed.
The discussions followed the CBI’s Operation Chakra V in June 2025, during which searches were conducted at over 700 bank branches across the country linked to around 8.5 lakh bank accounts of mules. The operation, aimed at combating cybercrime and so-called digital arrest fraud, led to searches at 42 locations in five states and the arrest of nine accused.
According to the agency, organized cybercriminal networks used mule accounts for digital arrest fraud, impersonation fraud, fraudulent advertising, investment fraud and UPI-based fraud.
The CBI said that certain bank officials, agents, aggregators, bank correspondents, intermediaries and e-Mitras facilitated the opening and operation of these accounts through acts of commission and omission.
The agency found that many accounts were opened without proper compliance with KYC norms, customer due diligence or initial risk assessment. In some cases, branch managers have failed to perform enhanced due diligence despite warnings about suspicious transactions generated by the system. Some banks also did not send confirmation or thank you letters to verify customers’ addresses.
Those arrested included brokers, agents, aggregators, account holders and bank correspondents. During the same month, the CBI also arrested a Mumbai-based person who was accused of providing pre-activated SIM cards and bank accounts of mules to cybercriminal networks.
At Monday’s meeting, senior CBI officials and representatives of public sector banks made detailed presentations highlighting operational issues. The specific issues of the case were discussed and steps were agreed to expedite the investigation and prosecution.
Efforts have also been made to streamline procedures for obtaining prior consent and sanctions for prosecutions under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI said several outstanding issues with the banks have been resolved and the participants agreed to maintain a structured engagement to overcome procedural hurdles and strengthen institutional coordination.
Published – 22 Dec 2025 23:21 IST
