Hyderabad: The city cybercrime police arrested 52 people, including 32 bank officials, for allegedly facilitating a pan-India cyber fraud network through mule accounts to siphon off victims’ money across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
Cases have been registered against the accused for their alleged role in opening and operating fraudulent bank accounts used in cybercrimes. The arrests were made under “Operation Octopus 2.0”, a coordinated crackdown targeting insider involvement in financial fraud networks.
According to police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar, Operation Octopus 2.0 was launched to dismantle organised cyber fraud networks involving bank officials. “There has been a significant rise in investment scams, trading frauds, and “digital arrest” scams, wherein fraudsters exploit victims through manipulation, intimidation, and emotional coercion, leading to substantial financial losses,” he said.
The operation was carried out across nine states by 16 special teams over seven days. The accused include bank employees such as relationship managers, KYC approvers, probationary officers, clerks and field officers from multiple banks, who allegedly colluded with fraudsters to enable the creation of mule accounts, police said.
The arrested officials are from several banks located across the states.Investigators said 15 account holders knowingly allowed their accounts to be used for laundering illicit funds, while five middlemen allegedly procured such accounts and routed money to masterminds behind the frauds.
Through an intensive investigation, the commissioner said the cybercrime police station (CCPS), Hyderabad, uncovered a nexus of 350 bank accounts used to siphon off victims’ funds linked to 850 cases across India, involving transactions amounting to nearly Rs 150 crore.
The frauds include investment scams, trading frauds and “digital arrest” scams, where victims were manipulated and coerced into transferring money. During the operation, police seized 26 mobile phones, 14 cheque books, storage devices, laptops and other materials used in the offences.
Cybercrimes DCP V. Aravind Babu said ACP R.G. Siva Maruthi and staff performed with tactical precision and professional competence.
According to officers, the arrests point to insider complicity within banks, particularly lapses in KYC verification that enabled the misuse of accounts for cyber fraud. Police said further action will be taken against the accused as per law, and efforts are ongoing to identify higher-level operatives in the network.
