Sajjanar writes to RBI, calls for reforms to dismantle cybercrime network

Hyderabad: Hyderabad commissioner of police VC Sajjanar on Tuesday urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to introduce certain banking reforms to curb cybercrime, citing the widespread misuse of ‘mule accounts'. In a letter to RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra, Sajjanar said the reforms are necessary to dismantle organised cybercrime syndicates operating across the country.The police commissioner referred to the findings from ‘Operation Octopus', a nationwide crackdown against cybercriminals by the Hyderabad police, which uncovered serious weaknesses in banks' KYC verification and monitoring systems. The probe found repeated instances of bank accounts being opened using incomplete, fabricated or improperly verified documents, in violation of RBI norms. Investigators also identified possible insider involvement, including KYC verifiers, branch managers, relationship managers and operations managers.A specific case cited in the letter involved a branch of a private bank in Nashik, where a KYC verifier used a colleague's login credentials to approve mule current accounts in exchange for commissions. Sajjanar urged the RBI to issue strict directions to commercial banks to fix accountability on branch officials and conduct an immediate systemic audit of KYC implementation. He also proposed that any bank official arrested or chargesheeted for aiding cybercrime be reported to the RBI and permanently blacklisted.The letter further stated that a significant majority of mule accounts detected during the investigation were opened in private sector banks. The commissioner also proposed forming a joint working group comprising the RBI, banks and police to regularly review the mule account issue and called for wider use of advanced technology to detect suspicious transactions in real time.
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