ED Arrests Sixth Accused in Rs. 417-Crore Digital Arrest Cyber Fraud Case
The ED’s Panaji Zonal Office arrested Jain on October 16 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The Special Court (PMLA), Goa, remanded him to ED custody until October 19. He is the sixth person arrested in the case, according to the agency’s press release dated October 19.
The investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station in North Goa.
The victim was allegedly kept on a video call, made to believe that she was under criminal investigation and coerced into transferring around Rs. 2.6 crore to bank accounts falsely described as “Secret Supervision Accounts”.
According to the ED, the funds were routed through a network of companies established to receive cyber fraud proceeds through bank transfers, convert them into cash and subsequently into foreign currency.
The agency said accounts linked to the network figured in more than 300 victim complaints and over 160 FIRs across more than 20 States and Union Territories, with reported losses of approximately Rs. 417 crore.
The ED alleged that Jain worked as a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) agent for the network, arranging bank credits into its accounts through brokers and receiving cash in return from those controlling the operation.
In a statement recorded under the PMLA, Jain admitted that he knew the funds in the transaction chain originated from cyber frauds, including digital arrest scams, the agency said.
The ED further alleged that Jain destroyed records and mobile handsets containing evidence of the operations following searches conducted by the agency.
He also failed to appear on the scheduled date for recording his statement and gave evasive replies when he subsequently appeared, according to the press release.
Further investigation is underway.
