Indian authorities are sounding the alarm – an increasing number of young people are becoming involuntary 'mules' in large-scale international financial fraud schemes. Criminal networks use their bank accounts to transfer huge sums of illicit money, often without the account holders realizing it.
The Waiter Lured by Easy Money
A recent case involves 24-year-old waiter Ajay from Lucknow. He told the police that a friend introduced him to a 'cryptocurrency trader' who offered him 20,000 rupees (about $240) to use his bank account for a single day. Eager to supplement his modest income, Ajay accepted.
The next morning, hundreds of millions of rupees were deposited into his account. He received detailed instructions on how much to withdraw and where to find people who would collect the money. Ajay had no idea that he had just entered a sophisticated international fraud scheme.
From Collaborating with Criminals to Assisting the Police
Weeks later, Indian police knocked on his door. Investigators informed him that his account had been used to launder the proceeds of cybercrime. Ajay began to cooperate, providing leads that helped track other account holders and intermediaries linked to a crime syndicate with connections in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.
How the 'Mule' Account System Works
According to India's cybercrime units, this is a well-organized network that, in the last three months, exploited dozens of fake or rented accounts. These accounts typically belong to young people from poorer neighborhoods, students, or employees of small businesses.
They receive commissions of 10,000 to 30,000 rupees for 'lending' their accounts. The money is then routed through peer-to-peer networks and converted into digital assets, most commonly the stablecoin USDT.
Telegram as the Operations Center
Police discovered that coordination takes place via encrypted Telegram channels operated by Chinese manipulators. Local recruiters obtain the accounts while deliberately ignoring standard identity verification (KYC).
On transaction days, mule account holders are taken to the bank to withdraw cash, which is then handed over to 'brokers' who convert it into cryptocurrency and transfer it abroad.
Alarming Numbers and Police Action
In just one month, Lucknow police traced 5 million rupees (about $570,000) laundered through these accounts. About 60 young people were arrested for having their accounts used in frauds totaling millions of rupees.
“These young people are not hardened criminals, but their accounts enable the functioning of large-scale fraud operations,” said Rallapalli Vasanth Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of South Lucknow Police, to PTI. He added that many expressed remorse and admitted that they underestimated the legal risks.
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