Raids expose ISI-linked mule accounts in Kashmir

Raids by the Counter Intelligence Wing of J&K Police have uncovered a large network of mule accounts used for cyber fraud and terror financing in the Valley, amid heightened online activity by ISI-backed elements and a crackdown on VPN misuse

New Delhi: Raids by the Counter Intelligence Wing (CIK) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with a cyber terror case have uncovered scores of mule accounts.

The raids were conducted at several locations across the Valley. During the raids the CIK found that there were many mule accounts in operation.

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The operation was aimed at disabling these accounts which were indulging in cyber frauds and also facilitating terror financing.

Acting on specific information, the CIK raided nearly 22 locations in the Kashmir Valley.

An official said that the raids were aimed at identifying people who were part of this network. This network was illegally routing money, which was in turn being used for terror related activities, the official added.

The raids come at a time when the ISI is trying to revive home-grown terror modules in Jammu and Kashmir. With infiltrations becoming hard, Pakistan decided that it would need to have a dedicated terror module that operates from inside Jammu and Kashmir.

To prevent any such move by the ISI, the police increased security across Jammu and Kashmir. Security measures both on the ground as well as the online space have been heightened.

This also included banning the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) across the Valley.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that there has been heightened activity online by ISI-backed elements. They have been trying to use mule accounts to move money around so that it would be used to build terror infrastructure.

Further the money is also being used to re-build the Over Ground Worker (OGW) networks in the Valley. The ISI is also planning an all-women OGW network in Jammu and Kashmir, officials have also learnt.

Crackdown on VPNs

The crackdown on the VPNs started this month. On January 2, officials identified 140 people for non-compliance with the VPN ban that was imposed last week.

In Pulwama alone, 100 people were identified for violating the ban. Action so far has been initiated against 49 people for violating the ban, the police said.

There has been a sustained effort to use mule accounts in Jammu and Kashmir to move money around. Earlier this year, at least 7,000 such accounts were identified by the agencies, which were moving money at the behest of Pakistan.

Another official said that these accounts belonged to individuals and businesses. However, they were controlled by fraudsters operating remotely.

These persons wait for the funds to be deposited and then the same is quickly moved to other accounts. There have been instances when the funds have also been converted into cryptocurrency to obfuscate tracking.

Officials dealing with cyber crime say that most of the recent operations that terrorists have carried out in Jammu and Kashmir have been funded through such mule accounts.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Pahalgam attack case is probing if the attackers have been funded through these mule accounts. Once the killers reached Pahalgam, money is suspected to have been transferred to them using mule accounts.

These accounts are said to have been remotely operated from Pakistan. The ISI has been using mule accounts to fund terror activities as the chances of detection are very low.

Such accounts are often tied to elderly or deceased individuals. This helps the perpetrator to hide their real identity while operating these accounts. This makes it hard for the authorities to trace.

Such accounts involve layered transactions through multiple banks. This, too, makes tracing the transactions tough.

Intelligence inputs suggest that this would be a huge headache for the security agencies. The agencies are working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and some banks to set this problem right.

Recently the RBI Innovation Hub introduced MuleHunter AI. This is an advanced system which is designed to detect and also neutralise mule accounts and the activity around it, an official said.

A trial with two public sector banks yielded positive results and this technology will now be introduced across all banks in the country, the official added.