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| Cyber Jihad exposed | | ISI using mule accounts to bankroll terror in Kashmir | | Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 7: Raids conducted by the Counter Intelligence Wing (CIK) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police in a cyber terror financing case have exposed a large network of mule bank accounts being used to route funds for terror-related activities in the Valley.
The raids were carried out at nearly 22 locations across the Kashmir Valley after police received specific intelligence inputs about suspicious financial transactions. Officials said the operation was aimed at identifying individuals involved in illegally routing money and dismantling financial channels being used to support terrorism.
“These accounts were being used not only for cyber fraud but also for facilitating terror financing. The network was operating through layered transactions to avoid detection,” an official said.
Security agencies believe the crackdown comes at a time when Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is attempting to revive home-grown terror modules in Jammu and Kashmir, as infiltration from across the border has become increasingly difficult. As a result, terror handlers are now focusing on building locally operated modules within the Union Territory.
To counter these efforts, security measures have been intensified across Jammu and Kashmir, both on the ground and in cyberspace. This has also included restrictions on the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in the Valley to curb anonymous online activity.
An Intelligence Bureau official said there has been heightened online mobilisation by ISI-backed elements, who are using mule accounts to move money for rebuilding terror infrastructure and reviving Over Ground Worker (OGW) networks. Agencies have also received inputs about plans to create all-women OGW modules to evade suspicion.
The crackdown on VPN misuse began earlier this month. On January 2, authorities identified around 140 individuals for non-compliance with the recently imposed VPN restrictions. In Pulwama district alone, nearly 100 people were flagged, and action has so far been initiated against 49 persons, police said.
Officials said the use of mule accounts in Jammu and Kashmir has been persistent. Earlier this year, agencies had identified nearly 7,000 such accounts that were allegedly being used to move money at the behest of handlers based in Pakistan.
“These accounts belong to individuals or businesses but are controlled remotely by fraudsters or terror facilitators. Funds are deposited and quickly transferred to multiple accounts, and in some cases converted into cryptocurrency to obscure tracking,” another official said.
Cybercrime investigators say most recent terror operations in the Union Territory have been funded through such financial channels.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Pahalgam attack case, is also examining whether the attackers were financed through mule accounts. Officials suspect that funds were transferred to the assailants through such accounts after they reached Pahalgam.
Intelligence agencies say many mule accounts are opened in the names of elderly or even deceased persons, making it difficult to trace the actual operators. The money is often routed through multiple banks in layered transactions, further complicating detection.
Officials warned that the growing sophistication of financial terror networks poses a major challenge for security agencies, which are now working closely with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and banks to strengthen detection mechanisms.
Recently, the RBI Innovation Hub introduced an AI-based system called MuleHunter, designed to identify and neutralise mule accounts and suspicious transaction patterns. A pilot project with two public sector banks yielded encouraging results, and the technology is now expected to be rolled out across banks nationwide, officials said. |
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