ED attaches 24 more properties worth ₹193.5 crore in Goa land grab case
The 24 attached properties include premises sold to third parties, properties transferred to associates via sham deeds and other properties identified subsequently
PANAJI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has provisionally attached 24 properties valued at ₹193.5 crore in north Goa’s Bardez Taluka in connection with multiple land grab cases registered by the special investigation team (SIT) of the state police.
The Goa land grab cases are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate based on FIRs lodged by the Goa Police Special Investigation Team in which the crime branch’s special investigation team had registered 111 cases of land grabbing involving 93 parcels of land measuring 150,000 square metres across Goa.
The cases involved fraudulent methods such as impersonation, forging documents, and tampering with revenue records including signing deeds in the name of dead people.
In a statement on Tuesday, ED said 24 properties were provisionally attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This is the second provisional attachment in this case. In 2023, ED attached 31 properties valued at Rs. 39.24 crore which was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (PMLA), New Delhi on April 15, 2024.
According to the ED, its investigation revealed that fraudsters created forged documents and deeds in the names of deceased individuals or ancestors.
“Using these forged documents as genuine, they fraudulently inserted their names or the names of associates into the land records maintained by the Government of Goa. Subsequently, these illegally acquired properties were either sold to third parties, generating proceeds of crime, or transferred to associates through sham sale deeds without actual payment of consideration,” the federal agency said in the statement.
The 24 attached properties include premises sold to third parties, properties transferred to associates via sham deeds and other properties identified subsequently, located in prime tourist hotspots in Bardez Taluka.
The order comes days after the agency on April 25 raided a key accused Rohan Harmalkar and seized property documents worth ₹600 crore from his possession.
The SIT has been investigating land grabbing cases in Goa, in which persons impersonating the original owners, some of whom were long dead, executed sale deeds to transfer prime properties in coastal villages in Goa to their own names or names of their associates which were then sold on to unsuspecting buyers for a high price.
ED has also filed a prosecution complaint against Estevan D’Souza, an accused in the land grab scam who also unsuccessfully contested Goa Legislative Assembly elections.
D’Souza along with another Mohammed Suhail is accused of searching for unattended properties where the actual owner of the property had either died without a legal heir or the legal heir was living abroad. After identifying the potential properties for cheating and fraud, they committed offences wherein they executed sale deed/irrevocable power of attorney by using forged documents, through impersonator(s) of legitimate owners; and undertook property transactions.
