A probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into a Rs 2.6 crore digital fraud in North Goa has led to the discovery of a massive money laundering network worth over Rs 27,850 crore. The investigation began with the alleged digital arrest of a woman who was duped into transferring Rs 2.6 crore over 10 days. However, the ED soon found that the victim’s funds were routed through dormant and newly opened bank accounts, fragmented across over 400 beneficiary accounts.
The ED has alleged that the network involved interconnected commodity, trading, travel, and forex entities, including companies licensed by the Reserve Bank of India as Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs). Investigators have identified banking transactions exceeding Rs 27,850 crore and cash deposits of approximately Rs 2,904 crore, including Rs 584.70 crore deposited through 61,448 Bulk Note Acceptance Machine (cash deposit machine) transactions across multiple locations.
The agency has arrested two individuals, Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed, in connection with the case. According to the ED probe, 330 police complaints and 163 FIRs across 20 states and Union territories have been linked to the alleged fraud, involving an aggregate loss of Rs 417.49 crore. In 101 of those complaints, the money of a single victim was routed into two or more entities of the same network in the course of one and the same fraud.
Searches were conducted under Section 17 of the Act at 20 locations in Mumbai and Goa on 17 July and more locations on 21 August. The ED has seized Rs 3.25 crore worth of cash, along with digital devices, records, and statutory registers, which are under examination. The probe has revealed that the companies through which the proceeds were routed were incorporated in the names of individuals of very modest means, including drivers and single-room tenants.
According to ED sources, the companies were shown as being owned and directed by these individuals, but were actually controlled by others. The ED has described the case as a classic example of laundering, with proceeds being routed through shell companies to create a massive paper trail.
