Over 19 lakh mule accounts unearthed, Rs 2,038 crore worth of fraud prevented, says Amit Shah

The government identified more than 19 lakh mule accounts — bank accounts used to funnel illegal funds—and prevented suspicious transactions worth Rs 2,038 crore, home minister Amit Shah said on February 11.

Criminals use mule accounts to launder illicit funds, often through individuals lured by the promise of easy money or through coercion. The fund transfer through these inter-connected accounts makes in challenging for the Reserve Bank of India to trace and recover the funds.

Speaking at a meeting of parliamentary consultative committee for the ministry of home, Shah underscored the scale of digital fraud in India and said artificial intelligence (AI) will be deployed to detect and shut down mule accounts before they can become operational. The meeting was called to discuss cyber security and cyber crime.

Shah said the ministry in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and all banks is working to establish a real-time detection system to block these fraudulent accounts at their inception.