ED arrests 2 in Rs 30,000 crore digital arrest racket probe in Mumbai

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested two men in its money laundering investigation into an alleged pan-India cyber fraud and digital arrest racket involving transactions worth Rs 30,000 crore, sources said on Monday. The agency suspects the network is linked to about 300 victim complaints and 150-160 FIRs registered across 20 states and Union Territories.Sources said Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed were taken into custody from Mumbai on Sunday. The case being investigated by the ED began after a woman from Goa was allegedly made to transfer Rs 2.60 crore between May and June 2025 into so-called "Secret Supervision Accounts" after being subjected to a digital arrest.According to the sources, the ED, which functions under the Department of Revenue in the Union Finance Ministry, produced the two accused before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai on Sunday. The court granted their transit remand to the agency so they could be taken to Panaji, Goa, where the case has been registered.The agency is expected to produce them before a special court in Panaji on Monday and seek their custodial interrogation, the sources said. During the investigation, the ED found that the money allegedly taken from the victim was deposited into bank accounts, withdrawn in cash and then converted into foreign currency through RBI-licensed money changers.Sources said the agency suspects that this alleged cyber criminal network handled bank transactions worth Rs 27,000 crore and cash dealings of Rs 3,000 crore. The reported fraud involving victims is estimated at around Rs 4,000 crore. The ED has so far carried out two rounds of searches in Goa and Mumbai in July and again on August 21. During these searches, about Rs 3.25 crore in cash was seized, the sources said.The money trail also showed that shell or dummy companies linked to the case had drivers and employees living in single-room accommodation listed as directors, which the agency suspects was part of the network's operating method. Overall, the arrests are part of the ED's wider probe into an alleged cyber fraud network spread across several parts of the country.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 24, 2026 08:54 IST