Eight Bandhan Bank staff held in Nadia over 'mule accounts' used in cyber fraud

West Bengal Police have arrested eight employees of Bandhan Bank, including a deputy manager, on suspicion of helping a cyber fraud network open and run "mule" bank accounts used to move stolen money, the Millennium Post reported.

The case came to light after the state police's Cyber Crime Wing noticed large volumes of suspicious transactions passing through newly opened accounts, the paper said. The arrests followed raids at several places in the Tehatta subdivision of Nadia district.

Police allege the employees helped with account-opening paperwork while skipping mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) checks, and were paid commissions in return. Investigators suspect money taken from fraud victims was passed through several local accounts to hide its trail. Police have not said how many accounts were involved or how much money passed through them.

The eight were produced before the Tehatta sub-divisional court and remanded in police custody until 4 November. They have not been charged, and police are questioning them to identify the organisers and to find out whether staff at other branches were involved.

Bandhan Bank, which is headquartered in Kolkata, declined to comment because the matter is before the court but said it was cooperating with the investigation, according to the report.

A mule account is a bank account, often opened in someone else's name, that criminals use to receive and pass on stolen money so that it is harder to trace.