Security agencies have uncovered a fast-growing network of so-called “mule accounts” in Jammu and Kashmir that investigators believe underpins international scam syndicates and potentially fuels anti-national activities.
According to a PTI report, authorities have identified and frozen over 8,000 such accounts in the past three years, exposing a complex web of financial laundering. Officials fear that funds routed through these accounts may eventually support separatist operations.
These mule accounts serve as conduits for cyber fraud proceeds, enabling criminals to move stolen money into hard-to-trace digital assets such as cryptocurrency. Following a 2017 crackdown by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on illegal funding channels in the region, networks are suspected to have shifted to a “digital hawala” model.
Central agencies have now asked the Jammu and Kashmir Police and financial institutions to curb the spread of such accounts and identify “mulers”, intermediaries who recruit account holders and manage the laundering chain. Though mulers rarely contact scam victims directly, they maintain a pool of accounts that fraudsters use to move funds discreetly.
Investigations suggest that a single scam operator may control between 10 and 30 mule accounts at once. Some accounts are opened under shell companies, allowing transfers of up to Rs 40 lakh in a day without raising immediate red flags. Funds are fragmented and rerouted across multiple accounts to evade detection.
Officials warn that even if mule account holders do not directly scam victims, they are complicit by providing access to their banking credentials for commissions. Agencies have also flagged alleged foreign handlers in countries such as China, Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia, who reportedly instruct recruits to create private cryptocurrency wallets using VPNs to avoid traceability.
Authorities stress that dismantling this financial backbone is crucial to curbing both cybercrime and potential security threats in the region.
