mule account
“The bank has held Rs 10 lakhs for the reason that the transfer of the said amount has been disputed by the transferee, accordingly, the bank has partly frozen the account of the petitioner. The respondents (bank) have disclosed the account statement of the petitioner from Jan 3, 2026 to March 19, 2026. 10,00,000 was credited in the account of the petitioner on March 19, 2026, at the relevant time only an amount of Rs 1,509 was lying balance in the account of the petitioner,” the single judge noted. The bank was directed to immediately de-freeze the account and to allow him to operate the account while keeping the disputed Rs 10 lakh in the account.
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Thursday said that a bank cannot freeze accounts merely on allegations that they are being used to receive, move and launder illegally acquired money — known as “mule accounts” in banking parlance — without filing a ‘Suspicious Transaction Report’ (STR). By referring the said statement of account of the petitioner, the respondents contended that immediately after credit of any amount in the account, the petitioner used to debit all amounts from the said account and when Rs. Banks file STRs with Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The judge held that the bank has not collected any evidence to establish that the account was used as ‘mule money.