11 September,2026 04:59 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Maharashtra Cyber ADGP Yashasvi Yadav (Pic/Special arrangement)
Artificial intelligence could help banks and financial institutions identify potential money mule accounts in less than a minute by analysing unusual transaction patterns, Maharashtra Cyber Cell ADG Yashasvi Yadav said on Friday.
Yadav made the remarks on the sidelines of the RealX Box event on real estate tokenisation. His comments come as financial fraud increasingly involves the movement of money across bank accounts, digital platforms and, in some cases, cryptocurrency wallets.
Money mule accounts are generally used to receive and transfer funds linked to fraudulent or other illicit activities. According to Yadav, the transaction behaviour of such accounts often differs significantly from that of legitimate account holders, creating patterns that can be identified using artificial intelligence.
"Money mule activity can be identified and addressed very easily and seamlessly with the latest AI technologies because the pattern of a money mule is very distinct and very different from that of a bona fide account holder," Yadav said.
He said a common pattern involves a large amount of money being deposited into an account, remaining there for a short period and then being transferred to multiple accounts or platforms. In some cases, the money may subsequently move into cryptocurrency wallets, making it more difficult to trace.
"For an AI engine trained to identify such patterns, detecting this activity can be a matter of less than a minute," Yadav said.
Maharashtra Cyber Cell ADG also highlighted the potential for AI-based monitoring systems to identify suspicious financial activity at an early stage rather than after fraudulent transactions have already been completed.
He said the technology required to detect such activity is already available and that deploying appropriate software could significantly reduce the time taken to identify and respond to money mule networks.
Yadav also asserted, "The money mule problem in the country can therefore be addressed in a matter of hours if the right software and technologies are deployed."
However, detecting a suspicious account is only one part of tackling financial fraud. Banks, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies would also need systems that can quickly act on alerts generated by AI-based monitoring tools.
Speaking about the role of cybersecurity in emerging digital financial models such as land tokenisation. Yadav also said that the increasing integration of physical assets with digital platforms would require safeguards covering both financial assets and the identities and reputations of people participating in such systems.
"Land tokenisation can only be successful and effectively regulated when it is underpinned by robust cybersecurity," Yadav further added.
As financial transactions increasingly span traditional banking systems, digital platforms and cryptocurrency networks, the effectiveness of AI-based fraud detection is likely to depend not only on identifying suspicious patterns but also on how quickly financial institutions and authorities can intervene once such activity is flagged.
