Goa Woman Defrauded of ₹2.6 Crore in Cyber Scam; RTGS Agent Arrested by ED
An RTGS agent has been arrested in Goa for his role in a cyber scam that defrauded a woman of ₹2.6 crore.
Panaji, October 19 (Daily Kiran) : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an RTGS agent for his involvement in a cyber scam that defrauded a woman in Goa of ₹2.6 crore. This arrest was confirmed by an official on Monday.
Mukesh Kumar Pukhraj Jain, also known as Mukesh Bhai, was apprehended on October 16 by the ED’s Panaji zonal office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Following his arrest, a special court in Goa ordered Jain to be remanded in ED custody until Monday. Notably, he is the sixth person to be arrested in connection with this case.
According to the ED, Jain destroyed records and mobile handsets containing evidence related to the scam after searches were conducted at several locations tied to a cybercrime gang. He failed to appear for a scheduled statement and provided evasive answers when he eventually presented himself to the ED. The investigation was initiated based on an FIR filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station in North Goa.
The victim was coerced into transferring ₹2.6 crore to fake accounts, under the false pretense that a criminal investigation was underway against her. The ED’s investigation revealed that the money extorted from the victim was funneled through a network of companies that facilitated the conversion of the funds into cash and subsequently into foreign currency.
The ED reported that more than 300 victims across 20 states and union territories have lodged complaints related to this network, with over 160 FIRs filed, resulting in losses totaling approximately ₹417 crore. Jain acted as an RTGS agent for the network, arranging bank credits into its accounts and receiving commissions in cash from those controlling the operation. In his statements under the PMLA, Jain admitted to knowing that the funds involved were derived from cyber fraud.
