ED attaches ₹193.49 crore worth of properties in Goa’s Bardez in land grab probe | File Photo
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 24 immovable properties worth Rs 193.49 crore in connection with the Goa land grab case. The properties are spread across prime locations in Bardez taluka, including Calangute, Assagao, Anjuna, Nerul, and Parra. The attachment was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, through a provisional attachment order dated April 25.the central agency said on tuesday
This is the second major attachment in the case. In 2023, the ED had earlier attached 31 properties valued at Rs 39.24 crore. That attachment was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (PMLA), on April 15, 2024. With the latest action, the total value of attached properties in the case has risen to Rs 232.73 crore.
The Goa land grab case surfaced in 2022 after multiple first information reports (FIRs) were registered by the Goa Police following complaints of large-scale fraudulent land transfers. Several private individuals and unknown government officials were accused of using forged documents to prime land parcels, mainly belonging to NRIs or deceased persons.
In response, the Goa government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in mid-2022 to probe the alleged racket. The SIT unearthed a well-organized scheme involving fake powers of attorney, forged sale deeds, fabricated signatures, and tampered land records. Investigators also found the involvement of touts, middlemen, and insiders within government departments.
Acting on SIT findings and arrests made during the probe, the ED registered a money laundering case and began tracing the financial trail. The investigation revealed that the accused laundered illegal gains through shell firms and bogus agreements.
According to the ED, the accused used forged documents and deeds prepared in the names of deceased persons or their ancestors. These documents were allegedly used to fraudulently insert names of the accused or their associates into official land records maintained by the Goa government. The properties were then either sold to third parties thereby generating proceeds of crime or transferred via sham transactions without any actual payment.
The 24 newly attached assets include a mix of third-party sales, intra-network transfers, and properties unearthed during the latest phase of the probe. Many of them fall within Goa’s high-value tourist belt, pointing to a commercial motive behind the fraud.
A prosecution complaint was filed by the ED on April 12, 2024, before the Special PMLA Court in Mapusa, which has taken cognizance of the matter. The ED has stated that further investigation is currently underway to trace the remaining assets and identify the full extent of the money laundering operation.
