Fraud Briefing

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued fresh directions on August 4, 2026, ordering RBI to prepare and circulate a Standard Operating Procedure for identifying and dealing with mule accounts linked to money laundering and cyber-enabled fraud, after reviewing I4C's fourth status report.

Accused recruited Indian youths on social media with offers of USD 800-1,000 monthly salaries for jobs in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. On arrival, victims had passports confiscated and were forced to operate cyber scam centres targeting Indian financial victims, running investment fraud, digital arrest, and fake parcel scams. I4C data identified over 500 people from Rajasthan trafficked into these compounds.

Financial loss reached Rs 193.49 crore in FY26 against Rs 81.27 crore in FY25, with recovery declining to just 3.5%. The inverse trend of fewer cases but larger amounts points to consolidation into larger institutional fraud schemes rather than retail fraud. Banks are mandated to report to State Police, SFIO, or CBI based on amount thresholds.