New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- West Bengal Police have arrested eight Bandhan Bank employees, including a deputy manager, for allegedly colluding with a cyber fraud syndicate to create and operate fraudulent 'mule accounts' used to launder money.
The arrests were made in Tehatta subdivision of Nadia following coordinated raids at several locations. The accused were produced before the Tehatta Sub Divisional Court on Thursday and remanded to police custody till November 4.
Those arrested have been identified as deputy manager Samarjit Pramanik and bank employees Jaydev Durlabh, Tarun Biswas, Pradip Sarkar, Palash Mondal, Debashis Dalal, Bishnudev
Mondal and Dayamay Roy. The case came to light after the state Cyber Crime Wing detected suspicious, high-volume transactions through newly opened bank accounts.
During the investigation, police found that several accounts had been opened and authorised by bank employees
using allegedly questionable credentials. Investigators suspect the employees were working closely with a cyber fraud network that routed defrauded money through multiple local mule accounts to conceal the trail of transactions and evade detection.
Police allege that the bank employees facilitated the racket by helping with account-opening formalities and bypassing mandatory KYC procedures. In return, they reportedly received substantial illegal commissions.
Investigators are questioning the accused to identify the alleged masterminds and ascertain whether more bank employees or branches were involved. Bandhan Bank declined to comment, citing the matter's judicial status, but said it was cooperating with the probe.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.