Dubai-Based Accused Used 150 Mule Accounts To Route Cyber Fraud Money, Arrested
Pune, 3rd November 2026: In a major crackdown on an international cyber fraud racket, the Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police, with the assistance of Interpol, have arrested a 26-year-old man who was allegedly operating the network from Dubai in collusion with Chinese cybercriminals.
The accused, identified as Sumant alias Nanu Ravindra Dasare, a resident of Nigdi, allegedly used mule bank accounts to route proceeds of cyber fraud worth crores of rupees. Police have arrested two of his alleged accomplices, Tushar Amraram Chaudhary (29), a resident of Chikhali, and Adarsh Santosh Waghmare (27), from Akurdi, in the case.
Deputy commissioner of police Rohidas Pawar said the investigation began after the cyber police registered a case related to online fraud and the use of fake bank accounts. The police traced a network involved in procuring bank accounts and arrested Chaudhary and Waghmare.
During questioning, the two allegedly revealed that they opened accounts in different banks and shared the account details with Dasare, who was operating from Dubai. He would route money siphoned off from cyber fraud victims into these accounts. The two accomplices would retain a commission and transfer the remaining amount to Dubai.
A lookout circular (LOC) was issued against Dasare under the guidance of police commissioner Vinay Kumar Choubey. With Interpol’s assistance, he was detained in Dubai. After being deported to India, he was taken into custody by assistant police inspector Pravin Swami and his team at Mumbai airport.
Investigations revealed that Dasare initially worked for a cyber fraud operation in Dubai, earning a monthly salary of 6,000 dirhams. He was involved in calling and messaging victims for share-trading and task-based frauds and received a 4% commission on the amount cheated.
He later allegedly began using international cards provided by Chinese accused to purchase expensive items at malls by swiping the cards. After understanding the entire process of cyber fraud, he entered into a partnership with the Chinese operators and started taking a 20% share of the fraud proceeds.
To facilitate the operation, Dasare allegedly procured more than 150 bank accounts through Chaudhary and Waghmare. He has admitted to earning more than Rs1 crore through the illegal operation so far, police said.
Pimpri Chinchwad police have registered 93 cases related to online fraud and the misuse of bank accounts. The latest arrests were made by a team led by senior police inspector Ravikiran Nale and police inspector Digambar Gaikwad, comprising assistant police inspector Pravin Swami, Vaibhav Patil, sub-inspector Rohit Dolas, Sagar Poman, Prakash Katkade and Vidya Patil.
