Two arrested in Mangaluru for acquiring mule accounts for cybercriminals in China

Two arrested in Mangaluru for facilitating cyber fraud through mule accounts linked to Chinese criminals, police seize multiple assets.

The Karnataka Cyber Command Unit’s special operation against mule bank accounts has led to the arrest of two persons in Mangaluru who allegedly collected bank accounts from people and used them to facilitate cyber fraud by people based in China.

The accused have been identified as Mohammed Aneesh (30), a resident of Kasaba Bengre in Kuloor, and Saleeth Ahmed M. (32), a resident of Surathkal. Both were arrested in Mangaluru.

The police probe revealed that the accused were allegedly purchasing cryptocurrency USDT from individuals in India at lower prices and selling them at higher rates to cyber fraudsters based in China through contacts on messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

Investigators said the Chinese fraudsters transferred money obtained through cyber fraud committed against Indian citizens into bank accounts provided by the accused. The fraudsters used the mule accounts provided by the accused to form a conduit to transfer the amount siphoned off from their victims.

To enable these transactions, the accused allegedly collected bank accounts from people in and around Mangaluru.

Police added that the accused were aware that the accounts were being used for cyber fraud. Whenever complaints were filed and banks froze the accounts, they would procure new bank accounts, and continue their operations. The accused used the money in the mule accounts to purchase USDT, which they transferred to Chinese fraudsters.