3 min readBengaluruUpdated: Apr 11, 2026 07:32 PM IST
The Karnataka Cyber Crime Police recently arrested two people in Hyderabad in connection with a Rs 15.45 crore ‘digital arrest’ case in which a Belagavi-based businessman was allegedly coerced into transferring money after fraudsters impersonated senior CBI officials and fabricated a high-level money-laundering investigation linking him to former Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal.
The arrests were made following a detailed investigation into the case registered on March 18 at the Belagavi City Cyber Crime Police Station in Karnataka. The accused, identified as Venkatesh Sharath Naik and Degavat Sripada Naik, both residents of Hyderabad, were apprehended during an operation conducted by the Cyber Crime Unit. The police said they were produced before a Belagavi court on April 7.
According to investigators, the case began after Ajit Gopalakrishna Saraf, a businessman and a resident of Tilakwadi in Belagavi, received a call from fraudsters posing as CBI officials. The caller, impersonating a senior officer, allegedly claimed that SIM cards registered in the victim’s name were linked to illegal activities and further escalated the pressure by falsely stating that he was under investigation for money laundering involving Naresh Goyal.
The fraudsters then placed the victim under what they termed a ‘digital arrest’, a coercive tactic used in cyber frauds to simulate legal custody through video calls and continuous surveillance, coupled with threats of immediate imprisonment. Under sustained psychological pressure, the victim was allegedly made to transfer Rs 15.45 crore through RTGS transactions between February 7 and March 9, 2026.
Investigators said financial tracing revealed that the funds were routed through at least 10 primary beneficiary accounts spread across multiple states, including Telangana, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and West Bengal.
Key breakthrough
A key breakthrough came when Rs 2 crore was traced to a joint current account in Hyderabad, leading investigators to the arrested accused. During the investigation, the police found that the accused had received Rs 2 crore into their joint bank account, which formed part of the fraud proceeds, and had also shared access to the account, including cheque books and internet banking credentials, with another individual suspected to be the key handler of the syndicate, who is currently absconding.
Investigators suspect the accused acted as first-layer account holders in the money trail and were part of a larger mule-account network used to receive and route proceeds of the cyber fraud through multiple layers to conceal their origin.
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Further investigation is underway to trace the complete money trail, identify other beneficiaries, and examine digital evidence, including communication records and devices used in the scam. Cybercrime units from multiple states are assisting in mapping the wider network, while efforts are on to freeze and recover the diverted funds.
Officials from the Karnataka DGP Cyber Command Unit, which is overseeing the probe, reiterated that no government agency, including the CBI, ED, RBI, or the state police, conducts digital arrests, video-call interrogations, or demands money transfers for verification or investigation. They warned that such scams rely on impersonation, fear, and psychological manipulation to extort money from victims.
