Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad police have arrested an unemployed youth from Moshi for allegedly allowing cyber fraudsters to use nine of his bank accounts as mule accounts to route money siphoned off from victims across the country.The accused, Sachin Kale, a native of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar who lives in Moshi with his family, allegedly received around Rs 1.15 crore from 65 cyber fraud victims across multiple states in his bank accounts over the last six months.Bhima Narke, senior inspector at Alandi police station, said Kale came in contact with the fraudsters through a social media messaging app. “They offered him a commission to receive fraud money in his accounts. He was asked to withdraw the cash and hand it over to individuals who met him at different locations. Efforts are on to trace these persons,” Narke said.Police said the fraudsters instructed Kale to open accounts in nine different banks over the past six months. As he was unemployed and allegedly unaware of the legal consequences, he agreed to let the accounts be used in return for a commission.Police said the accounts formed part of a cyber fraud network involved in scams worth over Rs 150 crore. The money was routed through multiple bank accounts across the country, with Kale’s accounts being among those used to layer and transfer the proceeds.The case came to light after the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal flagged suspicious mule accounts. During the probe, police initially traced two bank accounts linked to Kale in Pimpri Chinchwad before discovering that he had opened and operated nine accounts for the fraudsters.Two FIRs have been registered against Kale at Alandi police station, and further investigation is underway to identify other members of the syndicate and trace the money trail.As part of Operation Mule Hunt, a nationwide crackdown against mule account holders launched by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have, over the past three weeks, registered 140 FIRs and arrested 150 accused.
