Surat: Udhna police have arrested eight officials of RBL Bank, including the area head, for their alleged role in facilitating cyber fraud transactions amounting to ₹1,550 crore. The arrests come as part of an ongoing probe into a large-scale racket where fraudsters used dozens of mule accounts to channel swindled money from across the country.

The bankers are accused of helping open 62 fake current accounts for cybercriminals. Police began investigating the case in May after apprehending three suspects — Kirat Jadwani, Meet Khokhar, and Meet Italia — in connection with cyber fraud. So far, investigators have identified at least 164 accounts in various banks that received proceeds of fraud, and further arrests of bank staff are expected.

Those arrested are from RBL Bank’s Varachha, Sahara Darwaja, and Vesu branches, and include area head Amit Gupta, service delivery manager Arun Ghoghari, and employees Mancy Goti, Kalpesh Katheriya, Ashish Dhadiya, Anil Jani, Naresh Manani, and Kalpesh Kakadiya.

As per the police, these eight officials knowingly bypassed mandatory checks to open the mule accounts. Officials allegedly accepted bribes ranging from ₹20,000 to ₹1 lakh per account to ignore missing documents and fake business details. The investigation also uncovered deposits of cyber fraud money in accounts held in Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Yes Bank. Police plan to investigate whether employees from these banks were complicit.

The cyber fraud network, according to police, has international links extending to Cuba, China, Malaysia, and Thailand, with evidence from chats and documents seized during raids on the accused. A special investigation team (SIT) led by DCP Chirag Patel and inspector S N Desai is probing deeper into the case.

An investigator added that most of the bribes to bank officials were paid in cash, while senior officials also received favours like hospital bill payments and credit card settlements. DeshGujarat