RBI Rolls Out AI To Detect Mule Accounts

SUMMARY

Developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) in Bengaluru, this platform aims to assist banks in swiftly addressing the issue of mule accounts and curbing digital fraud

Mule accounts are those bank accounts used for illegal purposes, such as money laundering, fraud, and other illicit activities

The RBI shared that it has already conducted a pilot programme with two major public sector banks, yielding promising results

Doubling down on its efforts to combat financial fraud using artificial intelligence (AI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced an AI/ML-powered model called MuleHunter.AI to detect mule bank accounts.

Developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) in Bengaluru, this platform aims to assist banks in swiftly addressing the issue of mule accounts and curbing digital fraud, the RBI said in a statement post monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting today (December 6).

Mule accounts are those bank accounts used for illegal purposes, such as money laundering, fraud, and other illicit activities.

The RBI shared that it has already conducted a pilot programme with two major public sector banks, yielding promising results.

“Banks are encouraged to collaborate with RBIH to further develop the MuleHunter.AI™ initiative and tackle the problem of mule bank accounts being used for financial fraud,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said in a statement.

Das also announced adding another medium of communication through podcasts.

These initiatives are the latest in a series of measures taken by the RBI, in collaboration with banks and other stakeholders, to strengthen the financial sector’s defences against digital fraud.

Last month, it was reported that RBIH is in discussions with 10 public and private sector banks to accelerate the adoption of its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform to detect cases of financial fraud via “mule accounts”.

In addition to setting up multiple groups to tackle cyber fraud, the RBI established the cyber security and IT examination (CSITE) cell in 2015 under its department of banking supervision and created a fraud monitoring cell to publish a directory of officials responsible for fraud reporting in banks and financial institutions.

RBI has also updated guidelines for banks, incorporating insights from the Indian cyber crime coordination centre.

As per government data, Indians lost as much as INR 11,333 Cr to cyber fraud in just the first nine months of 2024. Notably, the country saw as much as 6.32 Lakh cases of UPI frauds worth INR 485 Cr in the first six months of the ongoing financial year 2024-25 (FY25)