Rs 24 Crore Cyber Fraud: Mumbai Police Arrest 3 for Supplying Mule Bank Accounts, 2,898 SIMs:

Mumbai Police has apprehended three accused, identified as Islamuddin Sheikh (aged 44 years), Yasir Nasiruddin Sheikh (aged 26 years) and Abdul Razzaq Abdul Rauf (aged 42 years), in a cyber fraud case involving transactions of about Rs 350 crore. They have been alleged to have supplied mule bank accounts and SIM cards to a cyber fraud network.

These accused men were nabbed by the Cyber Branch Unit of Mumbai Police on September 11, 2026, and subsequently were produced before the Esplanade Court, which has ordered them to be kept in police custody until September 19.

Malad Police Station had registered a case in the present matter under the provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) concerning cheating involving delivery of property, criminal conspiracy, abetment and acts committed by several persons with a common intention. Additionally, the police invoked Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, which deals with cheating using a computer or communication device.

The accused individuals used to buy bank accounts and SIM cards from other individuals by paying them a commission, and then the same were used or supplied for moving proceeds generated through cyber fraud, according to the DCP (Detection) Raj Tilak Roshan.

The accused allegedly acted as both buyers and sellers, collecting bank accounts and SIM cards from people below them and supplying them to operators higher up in the network. According to the investigation, a total of 2,898 SIM cards were used to perform the cyber fraud. In connection with the present case, 32 complaints were found to be registered on the national cybercrime helpline portal, 1930.

During search operation, the police found 88 bank passbooks, 143 cheque books, 100 ATM cards, 167 SIM cards, 24 mobile phones, two laptops and other bank-related documents and material, they were all immediately confiscated.

The Mumbai Police stated that "the wider cyber-fraud network uncovered during the investigation involved transactions of around ₹350 crore. Investigators have, so far, specifically traced around ₹24 crore in suspected cyber-fraud transactions through 10 bank accounts linked to the accused."