Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Goa, has arrested Mumbai resident Rashesh Bharatkumar Upadhyay, also known as Rashesh Shah, in an investigation into an alleged ₹2.6 crore digital arrest scam targeting a couple from Goa. Investigators suspect he acted as an intermediary for a wider cybercrime network, allegedly arranging payments to secure the release of bank accounts frozen during fraud investigations.
The ED alleges that Upadhyay coordinated cash transfers through angadiyas—informal couriers used to move money—to help restore access to nearly 100 bank accounts linked to the network’s agents. In one alleged transaction, he reportedly acknowledged arranging a payment of more than ₹60 lakh. The agency believes these arrangements enabled the network to access funds suspected to have originated from cybercrime.
He is the seventh person arrested in the case and has been remanded to ED custody. According to investigators, his alleged responsibilities included negotiating bribe amounts, coordinating cash collection and directing payments to facilitate the release of frozen accounts.
The agency further claims that Upadhyay continued communicating with the network after ED searches were conducted. He allegedly erased chat records involving co-accused, stopped using his known mobile numbers and made plans to leave India. Officials reportedly intercepted him at a boarding gate at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where he was allegedly preparing to board an early-morning connecting flight to Delhi without a return ticket. The ED acknowledged support from Mumbai Customs and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) during the operation.
The case stems from an FIR filed by Goa Police following an alleged impersonation scam in which fraudsters posed as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Investigators allege that the victims—a woman from Goa and her husband—were subjected to prolonged video surveillance and shown a forged Supreme Court order. They were allegedly pressured into transferring around ₹2.6 crore to bank accounts presented as “Secret Supervision Accounts”.
Tracing the funds, the ED says it identified more than 400 mule accounts that allegedly channelled money to a group of commodity, travel and foreign-exchange firms. These businesses were allegedly operated by Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed through dummy directors. The agency has stated that both alleged controllers, along with other suspects, were arrested earlier in the probe.
According to the ED, the suspected network processed banking transactions worth approximately ₹28,000 crore and recorded cash deposits of around ₹2,900 crore. Its accounts have allegedly appeared in more than 300 complaints from victims and over 160 FIRs registered across 20 states and Union Territories, with reported losses exceeding ₹400 crore.
The agency has also questioned Upadhyay’s alleged use of his professional standing as an advocate. Investigators claim he had not appeared in court or filed vakalatnamas on behalf of the co-accused or their companies, while allegedly helping arrange payments connected to the release of frozen accounts.
