₹36K Cr Cybercrime Proceeds Under ED Scanner

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has identified ₹35,925.6 Cr in proceeds linked to 257 cybercrime cases as of February 2026, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar informed Parliament. These cases involve cyber frauds investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED shares cybercrime-related information with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and other agencies under Section 66(2) of PMLA. It also uses systems like SAHYOG, Samanvaya, the Cyber Crime Portal, and the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) to track cases.

States are primarily responsible for investigation and prosecution, with the Centre providing support. The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) has helped save over ₹8,690 Cr from 24.65 Lakh complaints. Additionally, the government’s “Suspect Registry” has flagged 27.37 Lakh mule accounts and blocked transactions worth ₹9,518 Cr.

Platforms like the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for real-time data sharing and the ‘Chakshu’ facility have been rolled out to tackle cybercrimes. Authorities previously disconnected over 1 Cr mobile connections and blocked 2.27 Lakh handsets linked to cybercrime.

RBI Executive Director P Vasudevan noted that over 6.1 Cr cyberattack attempts were made on the central bank’s website in the quarter ended December 2025, all of which were thwarted. The RBI is deploying AI tools to detect attack patterns and trace their origins and is developing AI-powered digital public infrastructure (DPI) and payments intelligence platforms to enhance customer experience and automate grievance handling.