MUMBAI: A money laundering probe into a ₹ 2.60-crore “digital arrest” scam has led the Enforcement Directorate to a network allegedly linked to 493 cyber fraud cases/complaints across India involving reported losses of ₹ 417.49 crore. The agency has arrested two members of the network, which it says converted cybercrime proceeds into cash and foreign currency through RBI-licensed money changers.
In a digital arrest scam, fraudsters pose as police, CBI, ED or other law enforcement officials and tell victims, primarily citizens, they are involved in a criminal case.
The arrested accused, Fahim Sayed and Naim Sayyed, were produced before a Mumbai court for transit remand and taken to Goa, ED officials said. The two arrested accused were allegedly linked to the multiple shell firms and accounts, which were used to divert the defrauded funds, officials said while referring to the trail’s probe. They use video calls, fake documents and threats to keep victims under pressure and demand money in the name of a “settlement” or “security deposit”.
In 101 of those complaints, the agency found that money belonging to a single victim was allegedly routed through two or more entities in the network during the same fraud.
The investigation began with an FIR registered by the Goa (North) police cybercrime police station on June 9, 2025.
The case relates to a Goa resident who was allegedly subjected to a “digital arrest” scam and forced to transfer ₹ 2.60 crore between May 21 and June 2, 2025. The agency said its investigation found that the money was quickly moved through a network of bank accounts before allegedly being converted into cash and foreign currency through companies licensed by the RBI as Full-Fledged Money Changers (FFMC), allegedly to evade scrutiny.
