Corporate mule racket busted in city, 4 held

Lucknow:Lucknow police busted a sophisticated ‘corporate mule account’ racket and arrested four alleged operatives from Bihar who routed fraud proceeds through shell companies and corporate bank accounts.The accused Satyendra Savita (28) of Unnao and Nippu Kumar (23), Manish Kumar (25) and Sunny Kumar (26) of Bihar’s East Champaran were held during a joint raid by Sushant Golf City police and the cyber cell at a flat in Awas Vikas Yojana on June 29. Police said they were found operating laptops and mobile phones to carry out online banking transactions linked to suspected cyber fraud. “Though not directly duping victims, the accused provided the financial backbone to cybercriminals by enabling receipt, layering and withdrawal of stolen funds while masking their origin,” a senior police officer said.A search led to seizure of 79 cheque books, 77 ATM cards, 29 SIM cards, 15 smartphones, 14 keypad phones, three laptops, six POS machines and documents and seals of multiple firms—pointing to a large-scale operation.ADCP, south zone, Vasanth Kumar said the gang opened current accounts using shell firms registered with fabricated addresses, offering higher transaction limits and lower scrutiny. These accounts were then handed over to syndicate members to channel fraud money across multiple layers before final transfer, with the accused earning commissions.Police said accounts linked to the network figure in 718 complaints on the NCRP portal nationwide.