ED arrests RTGS agent in Rs 2.6-cr Goa digital arrest case

Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Oct 19: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an alleged RTGS agent working for a cybercrime gang involved in the digital arrest of a Goa woman and extortion of Rs 2.6 crore, an official said on Monday.

Mukesh Kumar Pukhraj Jain alias Mukesh Bhai was arrested on October 16 by the ED’s Panaji Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the digital arrest case involving the Goa resident, the agency said in a statement.

Following his arrest, a Special Court under the PMLA in Goa remanded Jain to ED custody till Monday. He is the sixth accused arrested in the case, the statement said.

The ED alleged that after searches were conducted at some premises linked to the cybercrime gang, Jain destroyed records and mobile handsets containing evidence related to the operation. He also failed to appear on the date fixed for recording his statement and gave evasive replies when he subsequently appeared before the agency, the statement said.

The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station in North Goa.

According to the agency, the victim was kept on a video call and made to believe that she was under criminal investigation. She was allegedly coerced into transferring around Rs 2.6 crore to bank accounts falsely described as “Secret Supervision Accounts”.

The investigation revealed that the extorted money was routed through a network of companies allegedly established to receive proceeds from cyber fraud through bank transfers, convert the funds into cash and subsequently exchange them into foreign currency.

The accounts belonging to this network have figured in more than 300 victim complaints and over 160 FIRs registered across more than 20 States and Union Territories, involving reported losses of approximately Rs 417 crore, the ED said.

Jain allegedly worked as an RTGS agent for the network, arranging bank credits into its accounts. In return, he received cash from the individuals controlling the network while retaining a commission, according to the agency.

The ED further said that in his statements recorded under the PMLA, 2002, Jain admitted that he knew the money routed through the chain originated from cyber frauds, including digital arrest scams.