Bhubaneswar: The Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Wing of Bhubaneswar Police on Sunday arrested two persons for allegedly renting out their bank accounts to cyber fraudsters involved in an elaborate investment scam.
The accused—identified as Prasana Behera (44), a school dropout from Bhubaneswar and Rahul Pradhan (24), a science graduate from Cuttack—reportedly allowed scammers to use their accounts for illegal financial transactions in exchange for a 2% commission.
Unlike typical mule account cases where victims are unaware of their details being misused, the duo is said to have willingly participated in the operation, police officials stated.
The racket surfaced following a complaint by Milan Kumar Beura, a Bhubaneswar resident, who lost Rs 12 lakh after being lured into a fake investment scheme promising a 7% monthly return.
Police investigations uncovered that the cybercrime syndicate had sourced over 100 bank accounts from individuals across 11 states and union territories, including Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Karnataka. Transactions exceeding Rs 1.34 crore were routed through these accounts in recent months.
“They knowingly facilitated the scam by renting out their accounts and recruiting others to do the same,” said Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena. “Such account rentals are a growing concern and strict action will be taken against those involved.”
Police also warned that mobile shop owners and telecom operators found negligent in selling pre-activated SIM cards could face arrest.
The police seized 24 cheque books, 8 bank passbooks, 27 debit cards, 4 mobile phones, a laptop, one credit card, and 6 PAN cards from the accused. Further investigation is underway to identify others linked to the syndicate.
