How ₹331 Crore Landed in a Rapido Driver’s Bank Account: Inside India’s Mule Account Crisis

A Rapido driver in Delhi woke up one day to find ₹331 crore flowing through a bank account opened in his name.

He had no clue.
He didn’t run a business.
He didn’t handle large payments.
He spent his days riding through traffic just to make ends meet.

This single case exposes something much bigger:

India is experiencing a sharp rise in mule accounts - bank accounts created using the identities of unsuspecting, financially vulnerable individuals. These accounts are now the backbone of illegal betting networks, scam rings, tax-evasion channels, and shadow wallets.

This blog explains how the system works, why it’s exploding in India, and what businesses, auditors, and compliance teams must watch for.

1. What Is a Mule Account and Why It Has Become India’s Biggest Hidden Industry

A mule account is a bank account opened using someone else’s credentials - often without their knowledge - to route illegal or unreported money.
These accounts are widely used in:

• unregulated gaming and betting

• scam settlements

• tax evasion

• laundering fraud proceeds

• crypto off-ramps

• offshore money movement

The account holder ends up carrying the legal risk while operators run a massive parallel financial network.

In India, the victims are usually:

• delivery riders

• daily-wage earners

• auto and cab drivers

• migrant workers

• low-income individuals needing quick cash

They are paid small sums - ₹20,000 or ₹50,000 - in exchange for their KYC documents, unaware of what follows.

2. The Rapido Driver Case: ₹331 Crore in 8 Months

Here’s what investigators uncovered:

• ₹331 crore credited within eight months

• ₹1.3 crore per day on average

• Money came from 50+ unidentified sources

• Funds were moved every 4–9 minutes

• Zero awareness from the actual account holder

This is classic mule account behavior:
Money comes in → instantly moves out → becomes untraceable.

The victim never knows enough to question anything.
The operators keep the account active and compliant so it doesn’t get flagged.

3. How Mule Networks Recruit People

The recruitment pipeline is shockingly simple and highly scalable:

Step 1 - Target the vulnerable

People who need quick cash: riders, labourers, gig workers, migrants.

Step 2 - Offer a small one-time payment

₹20,000–₹50,000 for:

• Aadhaar

• PAN

• photographs

• signatures

• video KYC

• mobile OTP access

They believe it’s for a “job process” or “loan application”.

Step 3 - Create a fake company

Scammers incorporate:

• a shell company

• obtain GST registration

• open multiple current accounts in different banks

• fabricate invoices and basic income documents

The victims think nothing more of it.

Step 4 - Collude with banking insiders

This is the real enabler.
Insider access makes it possible to open multiple accounts quickly without the usual scrutiny.

Step 5 - Begin account harvesting

Large value deposits start flowing from:

• betting app wallets

• scam rings

• fake export settlements

• offshore operators

• shadow wallets

Money never stays in the account long enough to trigger suspicion.

This is how the Rapido driver’s identity became the front for a ₹331 crore laundering channel.

4. Betting Apps and Shadow Wallets: The Real Fuel Behind the Money

Most of the funds in this case came from illegal betting networks - particularly 1XBET clones, TopUp Kings, and similar offshore apps.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs:

• India’s illegal betting apps generate ₹500–₹900 crore DAILY

• Most servers are offshore

• Money comes from small digital wagers routed through shadow wallets

• Payouts are settled through mule accounts

• Operators move funds to crypto or Dubai within minutes

The flow looks like this:

Users → Betting Operators → Shadow Wallets → Mule Accounts → Final Placement

Final placement includes:

• weddings

• gold purchases

• real estate advances

• crypto

• offshore transfers

• luxury spending

In the Rapido case, ₹1 crore was spent on a destination wedding in Udaipur - the only traceable link found by enforcement bodies.

5. Why These Accounts Are Almost Impossible to Trace

The laundering design is intentionally airtight:

1. Funds exit immediately

Transfers happen every few minutes, keeping balances near zero.

2. Victims cannot provide information

They genuinely do not know who used their identity or why.

3. Layering through shadow wallets masks origins

Thousands of micro-transactions hide the source trail.

4. GST filings are done to look compliant

Operators file basic returns so accounts don’t get flagged by automated GST systems.

5. Offshore masterminds remain outside Indian jurisdiction

Money often ends up in crypto or foreign bank accounts.

This combination makes the network extremely difficult to unwind.

6. The Compliance Risks for Businesses and Auditors

Mule account laundering affects:

• banking and NBFC audits

• GST intelligence

• reconciliation checks

• fintech payment flows

• AML reports

• #transferpricing trails

• transaction monitoring systems

• corporate settlements

• fintech payouts

For businesses, the biggest risks are:

• unknowingly paying vendors who use mule accounts

• receiving payments from unverified wallets

• onboarding distributors using fake companies

• exposure to GST fraud through shell entities

Compliance teams must strengthen KYC, vendor checks, payout monitoring, and UPI tracking.

Shunyatax Global - Helping You Stay Safe in a High-Risk Financial Ecosystem

Shunyatax Global believes financial clarity begins with understanding how money actually moves across India’s digital system.
We help individuals and companies manage:

• tax filing

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Our team advises fintechs, logistics firms, family offices, and high-volume traders on identifying red flags, securing compliance, and strengthening financial operations.

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