ED Makes 6th Arrest In Pan-India Digital Arrest Fraud Case

The Enforcement Directorate arrested an individual identified as an RTGS agent in connection with an alleged pan-India digital arrest and cyber fraud network involving transactions worth Rs 30,000 crore. The accused was taken into custody and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Panaji, which remanded him to agency custody. Investigators alleged that the accused arranged bank credits for the criminal network through brokers in exchange for a commission, bringing the total number of arrests by the Panaji office to six.

The money laundering probe originated from an FIR registered by Goa Police after a resident was allegedly defrauded of Rs 2.60 crore between May and June 2025. Cyber criminals posing as law enforcement officials had allegedly placed the victim under digital arrest through virtual calls and coerced her into transferring funds into designated supervision accounts. According to the agency, the defrauded money was distributed across 400 bank accounts, withdrawn in cash, and converted into foreign currency using money changers.

Investigators uncovered a vast financial network involving commodity, trading, travel, and forex entities that conducted banking transactions exceeding Rs 27,850 crore, alongside billions deposited in cash through bulk note acceptance machines. Official records linked these entities to numerous cyber fraud complaints and hundreds of police First Information Reports across multiple states and Union territories. Authorities previously conducted search operations in Goa and Mumbai, seizing cash and identifying shell companies that used low-income employees and drivers as nominal directors.

Not yet reported: The reports do not detail the final judicial outcomes or the identities of the masterminds behind the cyber criminal network.