Delhi: Influencer held for renting bank accounts to frauds for commission

He was among three persons arrested from Lucknow this month for providing mule accounts for an inter-state cyber fraud network, Delhi Police said.

Rawat admitted to selling his bank accounts to fraudsters for a commission of 4-5 per cent per transaction, police said.

The syndicate came under scanner following two complaints. In the first case, Smita Verma (28) was duped through a “work from home” scam. Contacted via Telegram with an offer to rate hotels, she was paid small sums — Rs 150 and Rs 90— to establish trust. The fraudsters then coaxed her into investing larger amounts for “prepaid tasks”, ultimately defrauding her of Rs 31,800.

The second case involved a higher amount. On June 14, one Dalip Kumar lost Rs 1.81 lakh to a fraudster posing as an Army official, selling a tractor on Facebook Marketplace. He convinced Kumar to transfer money in instalments for purported booking fees, transport charges, and check-post clearances.

“Using advanced technical analysis and financial transaction mapping, we traced the money trail to Lucknow,” said DCP Valsan. The operation led to three arrests between October 7 and 14.

Besides Rawat, the accused included Alok Kumar, a 32-year-old former e-rickshaw driver, who reinvented himself as a property dealer to open two current accounts, which he sold for a 1.5 per cent commission. Another man, Aditya Shukla (22), opened six accounts and received 3-4 per cent commission per transaction. Police records show that at least four complaints were registered against the syndicate on the National Cyber Crime Reporting portal.

The police are tracking one of Rawat’s accomplices. “The accused, who is yet to be arrested, has been identified as Rahul. Rawat not only opened his own bank accounts, but also influenced some friends to open accounts and provided the details to Rahul for receiving the proceeds of crime for commission,” DCP Valsan added.