Centre moves to curb bank fraud; calls high-level meeting with CBI, banks to discuss mule accounts, delays

NEW DELHI: The Centre has called a high-level meeting of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Financial Services and public sector banks on Wednesday to devise ways to curb high-value bank frauds amid the growing use of mule accounts, according to two people aware of the issue.Officials at the meeting will also help devise strategies to fill critical gaps in investigation and enforcement and zero in on procedural bottlenecks, especially delays in securing prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one person said on condition of anonymity. This issue has increasingly become a sticking point in fraud cases involving bank officials.“With probes often slowed by approval requirements and coordination challenges between lenders and investigators, the high-level meeting signals a push to streamline processes, tighten accountability and strengthen the system’s response to complex, network-driven financial frauds,” the second person said, asking not to be identified.According to Reserve Bank of India data, fraud cases in banks and financial institutions involving amounts of ₹1 lakh and above tripled to ₹34,771 crore in FY25 from ₹11,261 crore in FY24.

However, the number of such cases decreased to 23,879 from 36,052 during this period.In January, the CBI registered an FIR against the branch head of a public sector bank and 18 others for allegedly opening mule accounts that were used to conceal over ₹1,000 crore generated from cybercrime and other illicit activities. The agency acted on the basis of its preliminary enquiry, which exposed 13 mule accounts opened in the names of non-existent companies using forged documents.In June, the CBI launched coordinated searches at 42 locations across