MHA warns of cybercriminals using 'mule' accounts for money laundering

The Union Home Ministry has issued an alert against illegal payment gateways created by transnational gangs of cybercriminals using mule bank accounts and are being used for facilitating money laundering, officials said on Monday.

The gateways are created by transnational cybercriminals who provide money laundering services using accounts of shell companies and individuals, exploiting the bulk payout facility provided by banks, it said.

Police in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh recently conducted nationwide raids which showed that cybercriminals have set up illegal digital payment gateways using rented bank accounts for laundering the proceeds of different crimes.

"Some of the payment gateways identified during the operation are PeacePay, RTX Pay, PoccoPay, RPPay etc. These gateways are learnt to be providing money laundering as a service and are operated by foreign nationals," a government statement said.

When information gathered by the state police was analysed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), the modus operandi of the cybercriminals (which) came to fore... showed that criminals scout for savings and current accounts of shell companies and individuals through Telegram and Facebook.

"These mule accounts are controlled remotely from overseas. An illegal payment gateway is then created using these mule accounts which are given to criminal syndicates for accepting deposits on illegal platforms like fake investment scam sites, offshore betting and gambling websites and fake stock trading platforms, etc.," the statement said.

It said the proceeds of such crimes are immediately layered into another account as soon as the crime proceeds are received.

"Bulk Payout facility provided by banks are misused for the same," it added.

"I4C has advised citizens not to sell/rent their bank accounts/company registration certificate/Udhyam Aadhaar Registration certificate to anyone. Illicit funds deposited in such bank accounts can lead to legal consequences, including arrest. Banks may deploy checks to identify misuse of bank accounts that are used for setting up Illegal Payment Gateways," the statement said.