The Government Warns About Four Illicit Payment Channels that Help Launder Money

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Oct 30, 2024 — 2 min read

Government Warns About Four Money Laundering Payment Methods

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)'s Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) has taken a strong stance against cybercrime by warning about illicit payment gateways set up by transnational organised cybercriminals. Money laundering as a service is allegedly being facilitated by these gateways, which were made utilising mule bank accounts.

These actions indicate a number of payment gateways, including RPPay, PoccoPay, RTX Pay, and PeacePay. According to reports, these platforms are run by foreigners and are a component of a bigger network that provides services for money laundering.

Frequent Raids Are Being Conducted Nationwide

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced in a news release that a network of illicit digital payment gateways connected to numerous cybercrimes was discovered during nationwide operations by the Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh Police.

The Ministry claims that these operations, which were mostly discovered via social media sites like Facebook and Telegram, took use of rented bank accounts from people and shell corporations. Social media platforms are used to research current and savings accounts. According to government officials, these accounts are owned by shell corporations, businesses, or private citizens.

What I4C's Investigations Further Revealed?

These mule accounts are frequently remotely managed from overseas, according to the I4C's investigation. Once set up, these gateways made it possible for criminal syndicates to handle deposits for illegal operations such as offshore betting, phoney stock trading platforms, and fraudulent investment schemes.

Because dealing in illegal funds might result in severe legal consequences, including arrest, the I4C advised citizens against selling or renting their bank accounts or any company registration documents. According to I4C, banks may utilise checks to find instances of bank account misuse that result in the establishment of illicit payment gateways.

Who is Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre?

Cyberspace transcends national borders and manages Coordination between many stakeholders in various jurisdictions at all levels is necessary to combat cybercrime. One of the types of transnational crime that is expanding the fastest is cybercrime. There has been an exponential rise in cybercrime worldwide due to the surge in internet usage and rapidly evolving technologies.

In order to put a firm scanner on the cyber activities, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, launched the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C). This move was initiated to address cybercrime throughout the nation in a comprehensive and coordinated way.

I4C aims to address every aspect of cybercrime for the benefit of the public, including enhancing cooperation between different law enforcement organisations and interested parties, promoting improvements in India's overall capacity to combat cybercrime, and raising citizen satisfaction levels.

On October 5, 2018, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre plan was authorised. Since its inception, it has sought to improve the country's overall capacity to combat cybercrimes and foster efficient cooperation between law enforcement agencies. The Home Minister dedicated the I4C to the nation on January 10, 2020.