The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a private bank manager in Mumbai for allegedly facilitating the opening of mule accounts (accounts used for transferring illicit money) used in cybercrimes, including in “digital arrest” frauds.

According to officers, the bank official was apprehended on Tuesday for his alleged collusion with cybercriminals. The Central agency said that the accused accepted illegal gratification and abused his official position by processing fraudulent account-opening forms, thereby creating channels for the movement and layering of cybercrime proceeds.

The investigation revealed that these mule accounts were actively used in multiple cybercrime cases, including in digital arrest frauds, where victims are coerced into transferring money under false pretences of police or government action.

A case has been registered against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The manager was produced before a Mumbai Court and remanded in CBI custody for further interrogation.

The Central agency added that two cybercriminals who allegedly bribed the bank manager have also been named in the first information report (FIR). They were earlier arrested in connection with the ongoing probe into the digital arrest cybercrime racket.

Evidence gathered during the investigation points to a larger organised network exploiting banking systems to launder proceeds from online frauds through mule accounts, said officers.

The agency cautioned that any active or passive involvement of bankers—whether in private or cooperative institutions—in facilitating cybercrime would attract action under the Prevention of Corruption Act and BNS.

“The CBI reiterates its commitment to identifying and dismantling the cybercrime infrastructure that is exploiting and luring gullible citizens and defrauding them,” the agency said in a statement.

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