CBI, banks hold meet to fast-track fraud investigations

Senior officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Financial Services, and chief vigilance officers of public sector banks on Monday (December 22, 2025) held a coordination meeting to review and expedite bank fraud investigations.

The meeting, held in Chennai, focused on pending cases being probed by the CBI and ways to strengthen inter-departmental coordination. The misuse of mule bank accounts in cyber frauds and steps to curb such practices were also discussed.

The discussions followed the CBI’s Operation Chakra V in June 2025, during which searches linked to around 8.5 lakh mule bank accounts were conducted across more than 700 bank branches nationwide. The operation, aimed at tackling cybercrime and so-called digital arrest scams, led to searches at 42 locations in five States and the arrest of nine accused.

According to the agency, organised cybercriminal networks were using the mule accounts for digital arrest scams, impersonation frauds, fraudulent advertisements, investment scams, and UPI-based frauds.

The CBI said certain bank officials, agents, aggregators, bank correspondents, middlemen, and e-Mitras facilitated the opening and operation of these accounts through acts of commission and omission.

The agency found that many accounts were opened without proper adherence to KYC norms, customer due diligence, or initial risk assessment. In some cases, branch managers failed to carry out enhanced due diligence despite system-generated suspicious transaction alerts. Some banks also did not send acknowledgment or thank-you letters to verify customer addresses.

Those arrested included middlemen, agents, aggregators, account holders, and bank correspondents. During the same month, the CBI also arrested a Mumbai-based individual accused of supplying pre-activated SIM cards and mule bank accounts to cybercriminal networks.

At Monday’s meeting, senior CBI officials and representatives of public sector banks made detailed presentations highlighting operational challenges. Case-specific issues were discussed, and steps were agreed upon to speed up investigations and prosecutions.

Efforts were also made to streamline procedures for obtaining prior approvals and prosecution sanctions under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI said several pending issues with banks were resolved, and participants agreed to maintain structured engagement to overcome procedural bottlenecks and reinforce institutional coordination.