(Representative) Rashesh Upadhyay was apprehended at the Mumbai airport by the Enforcement Directorate amid a sweeping money laundering probe
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an advocate at Mumbai airport in connection with a money-laundering probe into an alleged pan-India cyber fraud and digital arrest network involving transactions worth Rs 28,000 crore, news agency PTI reported. Upadhyay was subsequently taken to Panaji and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, which remanded him to ED custody until October 29. The probe originated from an FIR registered by Goa Police on June 9, 2025, after a woman from Goa allegedly lost Rs 2.60 crore to cyber fraudsters.
The accused allegedly placed her under “digital arrest” between May 21 and June 2, 2025, and made her transfer the money into multiple mule accounts, according to an earlier ED statement. Seeking Upadhyay’s remand, the ED described him as a “key node” in the alleged network. The agency alleged that he helped get bank accounts linked to the network unfrozen after police complaints led to their freezing. He allegedly arranged the release of the accounts by bribing officials of the agencies concerned, with payments routed through ‘Angadiyas’ — a private network of individuals dealing in cash.
The alleged network handled banking transactions worth nearly Rs 28,000 crore and deposited about Rs 2,900 crore in cash, the agency said. Accounts linked to the network have surfaced in more than 300 victim complaints and over 160 FIRs across 20 states and Union territories. Reported losses in these cases exceed Rs 400 crore, according to the ED.