The ED arrested a Mumbai-based advocate and secured his custody till October 29 from a Special Court (PMLA) in connection with the digital arrest of a Goa couple who were duped of Rs 2.6 crore and his association with a gang of cyber criminals, an official said on Monday.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, arrested advocate Rashesh Bharatkumar Upadhyay alias Rashesh Shah on October 24 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the official said in a statement.

He was intercepted at the boarding gate of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, while attempting to leave Mumbai on an early-morning connecting flight to Delhi without any return booking, it said.

The interception was made possible by the active and timely support of Mumbai Customs and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Goa Police in a digital arrest fraud.

Fraudsters impersonating officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation placed the Goa couple under continuous video surveillance, showed her a forged order of the Supreme Court, and coerced her into transferring about Rs 2.6 crore into accounts falsely described as “Secret Supervision Accounts”, said the statement

The ED’s investigation traced these proceeds through more than 400 mule accounts into a network of commodity, travel and foreign-exchange companies controlled by Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed through dummy directors, the ED said.

This network undertook banking transactions of nearly Rs 28,000 crore and deposited about Rs 2,900 crore in cash. Its bank accounts have surfaced in over 300 victim complaints and more than 160 FIRs across 20 states and union territories, involving reported losses of over Rs 400 crore, the ED said.

Rashesh Upadhyay was a key node of this network. Whenever bank accounts of the network were frozen by law enforcement agencies on cyber fraud complaints, he arranged their release by paying cash bribes to certain suspected officials of the agencies concerned, routed through angadiyas.

He fixed the amounts, the collection points and the onward payments. On his own admission, he arranged the unfreezing of about 100 such accounts for various agents, including a payment of over Rs 60 lakh in a single instance, the ED said.

By restoring the network’s access to frozen fraud proceeds, he kept the money-laundering infrastructure behind digital fraud running across the country, the ED said.

He continued these dealings even after ED’s searches, including in respect of accounts frozen by the ED, deleted his chats with the co-accused, and switched off all his known mobile numbers before attempting to flee, said the probe agency.

Although enrolled as an advocate, he had never appeared or filed any vakalatnama for the co-accused or their companies. He misused his professional standing as a cover for brokering bribes and securing the release of fraud proceeds. Such conduct is not legal practice, and the protection available to communications between an advocate and a client does not extend to communications made in furtherance of an illegal purpose or showing the commission of a crime or fraud, the ED said.

This is the 7th arrest in the case. ED has earlier arrested six persons, including the two controllers of the network, Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed, and the agents who supplied banking entries to the network and arranged the release of its frozen accounts.

Further investigation is in progress to identify the officials who received the bribes, the angadiyas and other intermediaries involved, and to trace the full extent of the Proceeds of Crime.

Delhi Police have busted a major cyber fraud network involved in transactions worth over Rs 30 crore as it arrested seven people in connection with an online shopping scam that came to light following a complaint by a Delhi University student, officials said on Monday.

The investigation began after Fatima, a student of Ramjas College at Delhi University and a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, reported being cheated of Rs 6,450 through an Instagram shopping advertisement. The complaint was registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), following which an FIR was registered at the Cyber Police Station, North District, on September 4.

According to the complaint, the student came across an advertisement for a kurti on an Instagram account named ‘Kavya_kurti_hub’. She was redirected to a WhatsApp number, where she placed an order worth Rs 799 and paid Rs 400 in advance through a QR code.

Subsequently, she received a call regarding parcel delivery and was asked to provide a passcode. The seller then induced her to make additional payments on the pretext of generating the code and processing a refundable charge. She transferred Rs 1,150, Rs 2,000, Rs 2,650 and Rs 650 in separate transactions. However, neither the parcel was delivered nor the money refunded.

During the investigation, police analysed nearly 200 mobile numbers, IMEI numbers, banking transactions, and digital records obtained from platforms and service providers, including Flipkart, Zomato and Blue Dart.

The investigation traced the cheated money through Pine Labs Merchant to a Canara Bank account linked to Kizentech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in Greater Noida.

Following extensive technical surveillance, police conducted coordinated raids in Greater Noida on October 16 and arrested six accused: Aditya Mishra, Ayush Verma, Abhishek Pal, Himanshu Rana, Rahul Kumar, and Gaurav Pandey. Another accused, Udit Pratap Singh Bhadauriya, was arrested from Kanpur on October 21.

Police said the investigation had so far linked 27 cyber fraud complaints from different states to the network. Approximately 25 bank accounts allegedly opened in the names of fictitious firms and individuals were found to have been used to route the proceeds of cybercrime.

During interrogation, investigators found that the accused allegedly established firms and opened current bank accounts, which were subsequently supplied to other members of the syndicate for monthly payments and commissions. Pandey, an MBA graduate, allegedly played a key role in arranging and supplying bank accounts to cyber fraudsters.

Police also recovered 20 mobile phones, 45 SIM cards, 39 point-of-sale (POS) machines, 33 debit cards, 28 cheque books, 15 scanners, two laptops, five stamps, seven Aadhaar cards, five PAN cards and 21 bank-related documents.

The operation was conducted by a team led by SI Arvind Yadav under the supervision of senior North District police officers.

Police said further investigation was underway to identify additional members of the network and establish links with other cyber fraud cases.

Delhi Police have arrested a 72-year-old woman in connection with the theft of a foreign national’s bag from a shop in Paharganj and recovered Rs 1,85,500 in Indian currency and $2,600 from her possession, officials said on Monday.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Savita Gandhi, alias Saroj Gandhi, was arrested on October 24 from Uttam Nagar in West Delhi. She allegedly stole the bag while the foreign national was shopping in Paharganj.

The incident came to light on October 21, when the foreign national lodged an online complaint regarding the theft.

The stolen bag contained a passport, visa documents, $2,600, Rs 2.5 lakh in Indian currency, three credit cards and a Samsung mobile phone.

Following the complaint, the staff of Police Post Sangatrashan, under Paharganj police station, launched an investigation to identify the accused and recover the stolen belongings.

A dedicated police team comprising SI Sahil, W/SI Khaiko Asune, HC Bhageerath, HC Niranjan, W/Ct Mohini Bharti and Ct Lalit was constituted under the leadership of SI S.N. Ojha, in-charge of Police Post Sangatrashan. The team worked under the supervision of the Station House Officer (SHO), Paharganj, and the overall supervision of the ACP, Paharganj.

During the investigation, police analysed footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras installed in and around the area. Human intelligence and information developed through local sources also helped investigators identify the suspect.

After establishing her identity, the team gathered information about her whereabouts with the assistance of informers and by coordinating with investigating officers who had arrested her in previous cases.

Acting on the information, the police conducted a raid and apprehended the accused in Uttam Nagar on October 24.

The stolen Indian currency and US dollars were subsequently recovered from her possession. Police said the clothes she wore at the time of the offence were also recovered.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted to her involvement in the theft.

According to the police, she is a habitual offender with 14 previous criminal involvements, including cases registered at several police stations in Delhi. She was also recently released from Tihar Jail.

Police further said that the accused allegedly used her senior-citizen appearance to avoid suspicion while committing thefts. The details regarding the opening of her history sheet and a proposal for her externment are being verified.

A case has been registered under FIR No. 80090378/26 under Section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Paharganj police station.

Further legal proceedings are underway.