The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an advocate at Mumbai's airport as part of an ongoing money‑laundering investigation linked to a pan‑India cyber fraud and digital arrest case that the agency says involves transactions totalling Rs 28,000 crore. Officials said the detention took place on Saturday when the ED's Panaji unit intercepted the man at a boarding gate inside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Who was detained and where
The detained man was identified in ED statements and media reports as Rashesh Upadhyay alias Rashesh Shah. ED officers said he was intercepted just before he was due to board a flight to Delhi. The ED produced him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Panaji, which remanded him to ED custody until 29 October. The arrest is the seventh in the investigation, the agency said.
Allegations in the ED's case
The ED said its probe followed an FIR registered by Goa Police on 9 June 2025, after a Goa‑based woman was allegedly coerced into transferring Rs 2.60 crore between 21 May 2025 and 2 June 2025 into multiple mule accounts by cyber fraudsters who kept her under a purported digital arrest. In filings to the court, the ED alleged that when bank accounts of the alleged network were frozen following police complaints, Upadhyay secured their release by bribing officials, with payments routed through private cash networks referred to in the ED filing as 'Angadiyas'.
The central agency also alleged that the accused had enrolled as an advocate but did not appear or file a Vakalatnama for the accused or their companies. The ED's filing says funds obtained from the Goa victim were routed into about 400 mule accounts held by commodity, travel and forex companies run through dummy directors. According to the agency, the proceeds were subsequently withdrawn in cash and converted into foreign currency through RBI‑licensed money changers.
What this means for the probe
- Scope: The case is being pursued as a money‑laundering investigation under the PMLA; the ED says the transactions span multiple accounts and jurisdictions within India.
- Legal process: The accused has been produced before a special PMLA court in Panaji and remanded to ED custody until 29 October.
- Previous action: This arrest brings the total number of arrests in the case to seven, following the FIR registered by Goa Police on 9 June 2025.
| Key dates and figures | Details |
|---|---|
| FIR registered | 9 June 2025 (Goa Police) |
| Amount allegedly extorted from victim | Rs 2.60 crore (transferred between 21 May and 2 June 2025) |
| Alleged total transaction value in probe | Rs 28,000 crore |
| Number of mule accounts cited | About 400 |
| ED custody remand | Till 29 October |
The ED's statements allege a structured network that used mule accounts, dummy directors and cash channels to launder proceeds from alleged cyber fraud. The agency said it received assistance from Customs and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) during the airport interception.
The case remains under investigation and is before the PMLA court. The ED's filings and the FIR give the agency's account of alleged criminal conduct and its investigative steps; an arrest, remand or charge is not a conviction.
