Biz correspondents face A/C freeze as fraudsters hop on agent network
mule accounts is biting into the domestic money remittance industry, as business correspondents (BCs) who process such transactions via their physical agent networks are finding their accounts being frozen by law enforcement agencies that are on the money trail of fraudsters.
According to three industry executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity, fraudsters are using the accounts of BCs, depositing money at their agent outlets and getting it transferred to multiple accounts through tranches and sometimes even to outside the country via Nepal.
In most cases, the final destination is a mule account, and the depositor is a fraudster who would have collected the funds from cybercriminals or fake crypto apps. As police investigate such fund movement, they freeze accounts on the money trail and BCs are becoming collateral damage in the process, industry insiders said.
“Every month we are seeing accounts getting frozen by cybercrime police departments and funds worth a few crores are getting stuck, which disrupts our business,” said one of the people. “While accounts get opened again after we appeal to the police department, the overall process takes weeks which creates a working capital problem for our business.”
Also Read | ETtech Deep Dive: How RBI and NPCI are working to tackle mule account frauds
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