In a sweeping move to combat organized cybercrime, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Center (I4C), has issued a stark warning about illegal payment gateways reportedly run by transnational cyber criminals. These illicit gateways—PeacePay, RTX Pay, PoccoPay, and RPPay—are allegedly being used as conduits for money laundering, utilizing mule bank accounts rented from shell companies and individuals.
The network is operated by foreign nationals and offers money laundering as a service, allowing criminal organizations to process and disguise illicit funds.
Recent nationwide raids by Gujarat (Indian State) and Andhra Pradesh (Indian State) police have uncovered a complex network of digital payment platforms linked to various cybercrimes, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced in a press statement.
These platforms exploit rented bank accounts—sourced through social media platforms like Telegram and Facebook—that belong to shell entities or individuals. “Current and saving accounts are scouted through social media, primarily from Telegram and Facebook,” the statement said, underlining the role of social media in recruiting mule accounts for illegal activities.
According to the Cybercrime Coordination Center, these mule accounts are often remotely controlled by overseas operatives who leverage them to process transactions for various fraudulent schemes. These range from fake investment and offshore betting scams to phony stock trading platforms. Once funds are deposited, they are quickly transferred to other accounts, employing bulk payout options provided by banks to obscure the money trail.
The Coordination Center has urged citizens to avoid renting or selling their bank accounts or company registration documents to these illegal platforms, as involvement with such illicit activities can carry severe legal repercussions, including potential arrest.
The Center also stressed that banks may enhance their monitoring mechanisms to detect the misuse of bank accounts associated with illegal payment gateways.
This crackdown comes as part of India’s broader efforts to secure its digital finance ecosystem amid a rise in cybercrime.