Goa digital arrest probe: ED arrests two, uncovers Rs 400 crore cyber fraud network

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested two individuals in connection with a money laundering investigation that began with a 'digital arrest' fraud case in Goa. The arrests, made under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, have led investigators to a pan-India network of cyber fraudsters.

Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed were arrested on Sunday and produced before a Goa court on Monday. The case originates from an FIR filed at a cyber-crime police station in Goa last year, where a woman was allegedly coerced into transferring Rs 2.6 crore between May 21 and June 2, 2025, into accounts falsely described as 'secret supervision accounts'.

The investigation revealed that the victim's money was moved within hours through dormant and newly-opened accounts, fragmented across more than 400 beneficiary accounts. The trail led to an interconnected web of commodity, trading, travel, and forex entities. These companies have collectively undertaken banking transactions exceeding Rs 27,850 crore and deposited approximately Rs 2,904 crore in cash, including Rs 584.70 crore through 61,448 bulk note acceptance machine transactions.

The ED said the probe has established that accounts of these entities are subject to 330 victim complaints and 163 FIRs across 20 states and Union Territories, involving an aggregate reported loss of Rs 417.49 crore. In 101 of those complaints, a single victim's money was routed into two or more entities of the same network.

Investigators found that companies used to route the proceeds were incorporated in the names of persons of modest means, including employees, drivers, and residents of single-room tenements, who were shown as directors. The accounts and affairs of these companies remained under the control of others.

The money entered an 'organised apparatus' designed to convert cyber fraud proceeds from banking credits into cash and then into foreign currency. For this purpose, companies holding Reserve Bank of India (RBI) licences were used as full-fledged money changers.

Searches were conducted under Section 17 of the PMLA at over 20 premises in Mumbai and Goa on July 17 and August 21. The agency seized Rs 3.25 crore in cash, along with digital devices, records, and statutory registers, which are under examination.