The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Goa, has arrested Mumbai-based Rashesh Bharatkumar Upadhyay, alias Rashesh Shah, in connection with a ₹2.6 crore digital arrest fraud involving a Goa couple. The agency has alleged that he acted as a key intermediary for a nationwide cyber fraud network, arranging bribes to secure the release of bank accounts frozen during cybercrime investigations.

According to the ED, Upadhyay allegedly brokered cash payments through angadiyas, or informal cash couriers, to facilitate the unfreezing of around 100 bank accounts belonging to various agents. In one instance, he allegedly admitted to arranging a payment exceeding ₹60 lakh. The agency claims his role helped the network regain access to suspected proceeds of cyber fraud.

Upadhyay is the seventh accused arrested in the case and is currently in ED custody. Investigators allege that he coordinated bribe amounts, collection points and onward payments whenever law enforcement agencies froze accounts linked to the network.

The ED further alleged that Upadhyay continued his dealings even after searches were conducted by the agency. He allegedly deleted chats with co-accused, switched off his known mobile numbers and attempted to leave the country. He was intercepted at the boarding gate of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport while reportedly preparing to board an early-morning connecting flight to Delhi without a return booking. The agency acknowledged assistance from Mumbai Customs and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The investigation originated from an FIR registered by Goa Police after fraudsters allegedly impersonated officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The accused reportedly kept a Goa woman and her husband under continuous video surveillance, showed them a forged Supreme Court order and coerced the woman into transferring approximately ₹2.6 crore to accounts described as “Secret Supervision Accounts”.

The ED traced the money through more than 400 mule accounts to a network of commodity, travel and foreign-exchange companies allegedly controlled by Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed through dummy directors. Both alleged controllers and other accused have been arrested earlier in the investigation.

According to the agency, the network allegedly handled banking transactions worth nearly ₹28,000 crore and deposited around ₹2,900 crore in cash. Its accounts have reportedly surfaced in more than 300 victim complaints and over 160 FIRs across 20 states and Union Territories, involving reported losses exceeding ₹400 crore.

The ED also alleged that Upadhyay, despite being enrolled as an advocate, had never appeared in court or filed a vakalatnama for the co-accused or their companies. Investigators claim his professional standing was used to provide cover for his alleged role in arranging bribes and facilitating access to fraud proceeds.