Mumbai, October 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a Mumbai-based advocate in connection with a digital arrest fraud in which a Goa couple was allegedly duped of Rs 2.6 crore. A Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has remanded him to ED custody until October 29, an official said on Monday.
The ED’s 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, the agency said in a statement.
He was intercepted at the boarding gate of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai while attempting to leave the city on an early-morning connecting flight to Delhi without a return booking, the statement said. The interception was carried out with the assistance of Mumbai Customs and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The ED initiated its investigation following an FIR registered by Goa Police in connection with a digital arrest fraud. According to the agency, fraudsters impersonating officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation kept a woman from the Goa couple under continuous video surveillance, showed her a forged Supreme Court order and coerced her into transferring approximately Rs 2.6 crore to accounts falsely described as “Secret Supervision Accounts”.
The investigation traced the alleged proceeds of crime through more than 400 mule accounts to 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.
According to the agency, the network conducted banking transactions worth nearly Rs 28,000 crore and deposited approximately Rs 2,900 crore in cash. Its bank accounts have reportedly figured in more than 300 victim complaints and over 160 FIRs across 20 states and Union Territories, involving reported losses exceeding Rs 400 crore.
The ED described Upadhyay as a key link in the network, alleging that he arranged for the release of bank accounts frozen by law enforcement agencies in connection with cyber fraud complaints by paying cash bribes to certain suspected officials through angadiyas, or informal money-transfer intermediaries.
The agency alleged that he determined the bribe amounts, collection points and onward payments. According to the ED, Upadhyay admitted to arranging the unfreezing of around 100 accounts for various agents, including one instance involving a payment of more than Rs 60 lakh.
By allegedly facilitating the restoration of access to frozen funds, he helped the network continue operating, the agency said.
The ED further alleged that Upadhyay continued these dealings even after the agency conducted searches, including in relation to accounts frozen by the ED. He also allegedly deleted chats with co-accused persons and switched off all his known mobile numbers before attempting to leave Mumbai.
Although enrolled as an advocate, Upadhyay had never appeared or filed any vakalatnama on behalf of the co-accused or their companies, the ED said. The agency alleged that he used his professional standing as a cover to broker bribes and facilitate the release of fraud proceeds.
The ED also stated that the protection afforded to advocate-client communications does not extend to communications made in furtherance of an illegal purpose or those showing the commission of a crime or fraud.
This is the seventh arrest in the case. The ED had previously arrested six people, including the alleged controllers of the network, Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed, as well as agents accused of supplying banking entries to the network and arranging the release of frozen accounts.
Further investigation is underway to identify the officials who allegedly received bribes, the angadiyas and other intermediaries involved, and to establish the full extent of the proceeds of crime, the agency said.
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