**Executive Summary**
On May 12, 2026, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to combat cyber-enabled financial frauds. The collaboration aims to utilize Artificial Intelligence to identify and eliminate mule accounts across the banking and digital payments ecosystem. This partnership focuses on fraud-risk intelligence sharing and the enhancement of proactive detection mechanisms to secure India's digital financial infrastructure.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Objectives of the Collaboration**
* Strengthen operational coordination and analytical support between I4C and RBIH.
* Facilitate the sharing of fraud-risk intelligence to proactively detect and prevent financial crimes.
* Target the removal of "mule accounts," which are identified as significant hurdles in curbing cybercrime.
* **Technological Integration and AI**
* Integration of data from I4C’s Suspect Registry into AI-driven fraud detection systems.
* Utilization of specialized datasets to train and enhance fraud-risk assessment models, such as MuleHunter.ai™.
* Deployment of these AI-enabled frameworks across the banking sector to "cull" hidden mule accounts.
* **Institutional Frameworks**
* **I4C (Ministry of Home Affairs):** Manages the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Suspect Registry to strengthen the cybercrime response ecosystem.
* **RBIH (Subsidiary of RBI):** Focuses on technology-led initiatives to improve the resilience and safety of the digital payments ecosystem.
**Impact Analysis**
**Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) / Ministry of Home Affairs**
* **Impact:** Enhanced ability to translate intelligence from the Suspect Registry into actionable, automated prevention tools.
* **Action Required:** Share mule account-related intelligence and suspect identifiers with RBIH for system integration.
**Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) and Banking Institutions**
* **Impact:** Access to critical datasets for the training and refinement of AI models like MuleHunter.ai™, leading to more robust fraud detection across banks.
* **Action Required:** Utilize provided datasets to enhance AI-driven fraud-risk assessment models and implement these systems across the banking ecosystem.
**Citizens and Digital Payment Users**
* **Impact:** Beneficiaries of a "next-gen shield" against cybercrime, resulting in increased trust and security within the digital banking environment.
* **Action Required:** No specific action mentioned in the document; the impact is a systemic increase in safety and resilience.
Key Entities Referenced
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): An agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs responsible for coordinating India's response to cybercrime and managing the Suspect Registry.
Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH): A subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India that develops AI-enabled fraud detection frameworks and technology-led initiatives for the financial sector.
MuleHunter.ai™: An AI-driven fraud detection system implemented across banks to identify and cull hidden mule accounts using datasets from the Suspect Registry.
Suspect Registry: A centralized database of suspect identifiers managed by I4C used for fraud-risk intelligence sharing and training AI models.
National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP): An intelligence-sharing platform managed by I4C to strengthen India's cybercrime response ecosystem.
Ministry of Home Affairs
I4C and RBIH Sign MoU to Strengthen AI-Driven
Detection of Mule Accounts and Cyber Financial
Frauds
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit
Shah says - Modi govt is tirelessly working for cyber secure
Bharat
Mule accounts are big hurdles in curbing cyber crimes
MoU between I4C and RBIH unleashes the power of Artificial
Intelligence to combat cyber fraud
The move will swiftly detect and cull hidden mule accounts
by feeding the data from the I4C's Suspect Registry to the AI-
driven fraud detection system
It will serve the citizens as their next gen shield against cyber
crime
MoU aims to strengthen fraud-risk intelligence sharing,
analytical support, and operational coordination to combat
cyber-enabled financial frauds
Posted On: 12 MAY 2026 4:33PM by PIB Delhi
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, and Reserve Bank Innovation
Hub (RBIH) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in
combating cyber-enabled financial frauds and curtailing mule accounts across the banking and digital
payments ecosystem. The MoU aims to facilitate cooperation in the areas of fraud-risk intelligence
sharing, analytical support, and operational coordination for strengthening proactive fraud detection and
prevention mechanisms.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, posted on X, “Modi govt is tirelessly
working for cyber secure Bharat. Mule accounts are big hurdles in curbing cyber crimes. Today, the I4C
under MHA signed an MoU with Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) unleashing the power of ArtificialIntelligence to combat cyber fraud. The move will swiftly detect and cull hidden mule accounts by feeding
the data from the I4C's Suspect Registry to the AI-driven fraud detection system and serve the citizens as
their next gen shield against cyber crime.”
Modi govt is tirelessly working for cyber secure Bharat.
Mule accounts are big hurdles in curbing cyber crimes. Today, the I4C under
MHA signed an MoU with Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) unleashing the
power of Artificial Intelligence to combat cyber fraud. The move will…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 12, 2026
The MoU was signed by Smt Roopa M, IG (Admin), I4C and Shri Sahil Kinni, CEO, RBIH in the
presence of Shri Rohit Jain, Deputy Governor, RBI; Shri Anand Swaroop, Special Secretary (IS), MHA;
Shri Rakesh Rathi, JS (CIS), MHA; Shri Rajesh Kumar, CEO, I4C; and other senior officers from RBI,
RBIH and I4C.
Under the MoU, I4C and RBIH will collaborate for sharing of mule account related intelligence and
suspect identifiers from I4C-MHA’s Suspect Registry to strengthen AI-driven fraud detection systems
such as MuleHunter.ai™ implemented across banks. RBIH will utilise the datasets for training and
enhancement of AI-driven fraud-risk assessment models, including MuleHunter.ai™.The I4C has been actively working towards strengthening and collaborating for India’s cybercrime
response ecosystem through platforms such as the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), Suspect
Registry and other intelligence-sharing mechanisms. RBIH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve
Bank of India, has been promoting innovation in the financial sector through technology-led initiatives
and development of AI-enabled fraud detection frameworks aimed at strengthening the safety and
resilience of the digital payments ecosystem and thereby increasing the trust of the citizen in the digital
banking ecosystem.
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RK/PR/PS
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