Karnataka cyber command arrests 68 ‘mule herders’, uncovers Rs 85 crore scam network

Bengaluru: Between December 2025 and February 2026, investigators from the Cyber Command Centre (CCC) of the Karnataka Police arrested 68 people as part of their ongoing efforts to dismantle mule account networks in the state.

Officials said these 68 people were "mule herders". These herders’ aggregate mule accounts, create mule bank accounts, hoard them, and either sell or rent them to cyber criminals as required for a fee or commission.

Mule accounts are bank accounts used to launder money gained by cybercriminals by cheating people. Popular modus operandi includes digital arrest and investment scams, otherwise known as pig butchering.

These mule accounts help scamsters layer crime proceeds and launder them. In some cases, the money is physically withdrawn or converted to cryptocurrency and handed to kingpins outside the country, officials said.

The sustained efforts to dismantle mule account networks are overseen by Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Police (DGP), Cyber Command, Karnataka.

Official figures reveal 60 cases have been registered and 869 mule accounts identified. These accounts saw transactions of Rs 85.05 crore, of which Rs 13.43 crore are on hold or frozen.

Further, searches at 35 locations led investigators to recover 35 ATM cards, 37 passbooks, 80 mobile phones, 28 cheque books and 22 SIM cards.

“Mule herders collected personal information and documents from many people and also opened multiple bank accounts in the names of their relatives. These accounts were operated in a business-like manner,” an official statement from the Cyber Command said.