ED arrests Mumbai man at airport in Rs 28,000 crore cyber fraud laundering case
The ED's Panaji office says it arrested a Mumbai-based man on 24 October 2026, alleging he paid bribes to get about 100 frozen bank accounts of a cyber fraud network released.
Key points
- The ED's Panaji Zonal Office arrested a Mumbai-based man under the PMLA on 24 October 2026 at Mumbai airport.
- The ED alleges he arranged the unfreezing of about 100 bank accounts linked to a network that handled nearly Rs 28,000 crore.
- A special PMLA court in North Goa has sent him to ED custody till 29 October 2026; the ED says further investigation is under way.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, has arrested a Mumbai-based man under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) on 24 October 2026, according to its press release of 26 October 2026. The ED alleges that he got about 100 frozen bank accounts of a cyber fraud laundering network released by arranging cash bribes. The ED says the network carried out banking transactions of nearly Rs 28,000 crore.
What Happened
According to the ED, the man was stopped at the boarding gate of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport while trying to leave on an early-morning flight to Delhi with no return booking, with help from Mumbai Customs and the CISF. The Special Court (PMLA), North Goa, has remanded him to ED custody till 29 October 2026.
The case began with a Goa Police FIR in a "digital arrest" case. The ED alleges that callers posing as TRAI and CBI officials kept a Goa resident and her husband under video watch, showed her a forged Supreme Court order and made her transfer about Rs 2.6 crore.
The ED says it traced the money through more than 400 mule accounts (accounts used to pass on others' money) into a network of commodity, travel and foreign-exchange companies run through dummy directors. Per the ED, the network deposited about Rs 2,900 crore in cash, and its accounts appear in over 300 victim complaints and more than 160 FIRs across 20 States and Union Territories, with reported losses of over Rs 400 crore.
The ED alleges that whenever the network's accounts were frozen on cyber fraud complaints, the arrested man arranged their release through cash bribes routed via angadiyas (informal couriers), including over Rs 60 lakh in one instance. This is the seventh arrest in the case, the ED said.
These are allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and due process continues.
What It Means
The case shows how the ED says frozen fraud money was allegedly put back into circulation. No government official or caller can place anyone under "digital arrest" or demand money into a so-called supervision account. If you are targeted or lose money, report it at once at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930. The ED says it is still working to identify the officials who received the bribes.
This report describes enforcement actions and allegations on the public record, attributed to the officials cited. An order, FIR or chargesheet is not a conviction; parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Named in this report, or spotted an error? Corrections and responses: editor@oquilia.com. We correct errors promptly and record responses from named parties.
Sources & Citations
- Enforcement Directorate press release — Enforcement Directorate