Mule accounts, Rs 64 lakh trail: Chhattisgarh High Court denies bail to 3 accused in interstate cyber fraud case

‘Wider cyber fraud network’

• The magnitude of the amounts involved, the multiplicity of victims across various states, and the organised manner in which the transactions were conducted reflect the serious economic impact of the offence on unsuspecting members of the public.
• There are multiple complaints from different states registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Coordination Portal.
• This further substantiates the interstate ramifications of the offence and demonstrates that the alleged acts are not isolated in nature but form part of a “wider cyber fraud network”.
• The material placed on record during the investigation indicates that the accounts were opened or handed over on monetary inducement and were knowingly used for facilitating cyber fraud transactions.
• It prima facie appears that the present accused were actively involved in operating and facilitating mule bank accounts opened in the Bank of Maharashtra of Raipur Branch, which were used for receiving, routing and withdrawing proceeds of large-scale online financial fraud.

• The investigation reveals that substantial amounts were credited into the respective accounts within a short span from the date of opening, and almost the entire amounts were systematically withdrawn, clearly indicating deliberate and organised misuse of the banking channels.
• The bail pleas of all three accused are rejected.

Case: ‘Cyber fraud, mule accounts’

• It has been claimed that the accused persons, along with other co-accused persons, were actively involved in an organised network engaged in cyber fraud.
• The case diaries and chargesheets allegedly reflected that numerous mule bank accounts were opened or facilitated by the accused in different banks – multiple accounts linked with fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs 64.10 lakh.
• These accounts were allegedly used to receive, transfer, circulate, and conceal funds obtained through cyber cheating.

‘Structured criminal syndicate’

• The prosecution, through government advocate S S Baghel, claimed that the accused participated in a structured criminal syndicate engaged in cyber fraud and willingly assisted in the movement of stolen money.
• She further added that the evidence placed on record indicates prima facie involvement of the accused with co-accused persons in a coordinated fraud operation, which led to the registration of the alleged offence against the accused.
• It was also pointed out that the investigation officer concerned has, in his affidavit, stated that information received from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Coordination Portal revealed that as many as 128 bank accounts opened in the Raipur branch of the Bank of Maharashtra were allegedly being used for receiving proceeds of online cyber fraud.
• Multiple complaints were registered on the said portal from different states, alleging online financial fraud against the accused.

‘Innocent, falsely implicated’

• Appearing for the accused, Jai Baghel, advocate Khushbu Sahu submitted that her client is innocent and has falsely been implicated in the present case, only based on the memorandum statements of the co-accused persons, which are alleged to be false and baseless.
• She emphasised that there is no independent evidence collected by the prosecution to substantiate the allegations against the accused.
• She claimed her client has been arraigned as an accused without any direct material connecting him to the alleged offence.

• She further pointed out that his client has been in jail since March 2025 and has no criminal antecedents, and the trial is likely to take some time for its conclusion.
• The counsel of Jujesh Sona, advocate Rekhraj Baghel, submitted that he has neither transferred nor fraudulently received any amount in his account and has not played any role in the alleged offence. He has been implicated merely on suspicion without any cogent material or sufficient ground.
• Lastly, the counsel of Sheikh Shoheb, advocate Ravindra Sharma, submitted that his client is innocent and that similarly placed co-accused persons, namely Ishika Singh and Sanjay Makheja, have been granted bail by the Supreme Court.