The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Panaji Zonal Office on October 16 arrested Mukesh Kumar Pukhraj Jain, also known as Mukesh Bhai, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in a digital arrest cyber fraud that targeted a Goa resident.
The investigation started when the Cyber Crime Police Station in North Goa registered an FIR. The victim was kept on a video call, told she was under criminal investigation, and pressured to transfer about Rs 2.6 crore into accounts called “Secret Supervision Accounts.”
ED investigators found that the money was sent to a network of companies set up to receive cyber-fraud proceeds by bank transfer, turn them into cash, and then change them into foreign currency. Accounts tied to this network show up in over 300 victim complaints and more than 160 FIRs across over twenty States and Union Territories. Reported losses total about Rs 417 crore. Mukesh Kumar Pukhraj Jain was an RTGS agent for the network. He used brokers to get money into the network’s accounts. In return, he would receive cash from the people running the network and keep a commission. In statements recorded under the PMLA, he admitted he knew the money came from cyber frauds (digital arrest scams in particular).
During ED searches, he destroyed records and mobile phones that contained evidence of the business. He didn’t show up on the day he was due to give a statement, and when he eventually did, he gave vague answers. This case centres on a planned conspiracy in which money from online fraud was converted into cash and foreign currency using several controlled bank accounts. Jain, an RTGS agent who knowingly helped move these funds, played a key role in linking the digital suspects to the larger money-laundering network.
Digital arrest frauds typically involve lengthy video calls in which the fraudster pretends to be a police officer or a court official. They threaten to arrest or investigate the victim and then get them to wire money to an “official” supervision or escrow account. In this case, a Goa resident sent Rs 2.6 crore through a network of companies and accounts used in hundreds of similar cases across India and the Union Territories. This suggests a coordinated operation rather than just isolated frauds. The total reported losses of Rs 417 crore show that these accounts moved large sums, converted them into cash, and sent them overseas.
Jain admitted that he knew the money came from cyber frauds, including digital arrest cases. He also destroyed records and mobile devices after the searches, which supports the ED’s claim that he acted knowingly and deliberately.
His failure to appear on time and his evasive answers suggest he tried to block the investigation. With Jain’s custody ending on Monday, the ED will look into the bank accounts he used, the brokers he worked with, and the cash he handled. The ED says the investigation is still ongoing.