Ranchi, Aug 21 : The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Jharkhand Police has unearthed one of the largest networks of mule bank accounts used for cyber fraud in the country, officials said on Thursday.

The CID has identified nearly 15,000 such accounts and arrested seven accused linked to interstate financial scams.

Officials described the action as a "big blow" to cybercriminal syndicates that have long used Jharkhand as a hub for fraud.

According to CID officials, mule accounts are bank accounts opened either in the name of unsuspecting persons or willingly given to fraudsters in return for commission. These accounts are used to receive money siphoned from victims of scams and then quickly transferred or withdrawn, making it extremely difficult to trace the funds.

The investigation began after an FIR filed on July 29 showed suspicious activity in 40 bank accounts, each with transactions exceeding Rs 10 lakh.

Analysis of data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Union Home Ministry led to the identification of nearly 15,000 mule accounts, with footprints across multiple states.

The seven accused arrested in the operation were coordinators of mule account networks linked to pan-India scams. Those arrested were identified as Roshan Kumar, Prem Ranjan Sinha, Rajendra Sao, Jitendra Kumar alias Pappu, Noorez Ansari, Satish Kumar, and Ganesh Chik Baraik.

Roshan Kumar controlled accounts in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, while Sao operated from Delhi, and Sinha ran operations in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Rajasthan.

Jitendra Kumar alias Pappu handled accounts across at least nine states, including Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, UP, Bihar, and Maharashtra.

Ansari was active in Delhi, UP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and West Bengal. Satish Kumar focused on Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, and Baraik managed fraudulent accounts in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Bengal.

Jharkhand has been a hotbed of cybercrime for over a decade, with districts like Jamtara and Deoghar becoming notorious. But police say this bust shows how cybercrime has evolved into a complex, interstate financial racket.

The arrests have crippled an important link in this network, officials said, though the larger web of mule account suppliers is still under investigation.

The CID has launched a statewide campaign to identify, freeze, and block mule accounts, and has warned the public not to share bank account details with unknown persons.

The seven arrested have been remanded to judicial custody, with the probe still underway.

/IANS