Rourkela: The Rourkela Police have busted a cybercrime and money laundering syndicate that operated by procuring mule bank accounts with the suspected involvement of bank officials. Fourteen persons have been arrested so far, including two employees of private banks.

According to police, the gang was running its operations from Rourkela, targeting locals to open accounts, often with forged documents and impersonation. These accounts, known as mule accounts, were later sold or rented to cybercriminals across India and allegedly had links extending to Dubai and Nepal.

The syndicate reportedly recruited petty criminals both inside and outside jails to arrange bank accounts, activate SIM cards, and forge identity documents. Several accounts were allegedly opened with the tacit approval or negligence of bank staff, bypassing standard Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

These accounts were used to route fraudulent proceeds, making them difficult to trace. Funds were layered through multiple transactions before being siphoned off within India and abroad. Each account was sold for as little as ₹8,000–10,000, with the amount shared among syndicate members.

The crackdown followed coordinated operations under the supervision of Additional SP Shrabanee Nayak and DSP Serofina Xess of the Cyber Police Station, with teams from RN Palli, Plant Site, Bondamunda, Tarang, and Sector-7 Police Stations. Five people were arrested in the first raid on August 9, followed by more arrests on August 12, bringing the total to 14.

Two of the arrested are linked to Bandhan Bank and IDBI Bank, raising suspicion of deeper insider involvement. Police believe several more bank officials may be implicated, given the number of fraudulent accounts that were activated.

Police have booked the accused under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with Section 66-D of the IT Act.