Federal investigators in Panaji have arrested the sixth suspect in a nationwide cyber fraud and money laundering syndicate run under the pretext of “digital arrests”, the Enforcement Directorate said. The accused, Mukesh Kumar Pukhraj Jain, alias Mukesh Bhai, was taken into custody on October 16, 2026, and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Panaji the next day. He was remanded to the agency’s custody until October 19. Investigators allege Jain worked as a Real-Time Gross Settlement agent, coordinating fund transfers to accounts linked to cybercriminal networks through intermediaries while collecting commissions. The probe began after a First Information Report filed by Goa Police on June 9, 2025. The case started from a complaint by a local woman who alleged she was coerced into transferring ₹2.60 crore between May 21 and June 2, 2025, after fraudsters impersonated law enforcement and central investigative personnel and threatened to implicate her in a money laundering offence. Digital arrest is described as an extortion method in which scammers pose as government or police officials over voice and video calls, pressuring victims to send money into so-called supervision accounts with no legal validity in India. ED traced the extorted funds through nearly 400 bank accounts before proceeds were withdrawn in cash and converted into foreign exchange via money changers authorized by the Reserve Bank of India, a process investigators say helped obscure the audit trail. Officials said the wider network spanned interconnected entities involved in commodity trading, travel services and foreign currency exchange, with aggregate banking transactions topping ₹27,850 crore. Cash deposits, the agency added, totalled about ₹2,904 crore across the firms, including ₹584.70 crore deposited through bulk note acceptance machines via 61,448 transactions. Investigators also found shell companies with registered directors listed as drivers and low-wage employees living in single-room accommodation. The bank accounts under scrutiny were linked to at least 300 cyber fraud complaints and 163 FIRs across 20 states and Union Territories, with reported losses of ₹417.49 crore. ED carried out searches in July across premises in Goa and Mumbai, then conducted another enforcement drive on August 21, seizing about ₹3.25 crore in cash. With six people now arrested by the Panaji zonal unit, the agency said it is continuing to examine the wider network of intermediaries, RTGS handlers and foreign exchange channels used to absorb proceeds into legitimate commerce.