PANAJI: On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Panaji provisionally attached 19 properties covering over five lakh square meters in prime locations across Goa, including Anjuna, Assagao, and Ucassaim. The properties, valued at Rs 1,268.6 crore, were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged land grab activities in the state.
“The properties were unlawfully obtained by a group led by Shivshankar Mayekar through the use of forged land title documents, such as ‘aforamento’/allotment certificates, final possession certificates, demarcation certificates, historical sale deeds, gift deeds, and other falsified records,” the ED stated. In earlier searches, the ED also frozen bank accounts and valuable assets totaling Rs 12.8 crore.
The investigation began after an FIR was filed by Goa police against Yeshwant Sawant and others for defrauding the Anjuna comunidade regarding land located in survey number 496/1-A in Anjuna.
“The accused allegedly obtained fraudulent mutations of the land using forged documents filed with the authorities and then sold portions of this land to third parties, thus generating further proceeds of crime (POC),” the ED reported.
According to the ED, Mayekar emerged as the main conspirator, having illegally acquired various land parcels in Goa in the names of associates and family members. He was arrested in October and is currently in judicial custody.
“Additionally, four more FIRs have been filed against the accused concerning illegal land acquisitions in Anjuna and Assagao. The investigation has also uncovered several properties suspected to have been acquired through similar fraudulent practices,” the ED disclosed.
The ED confirmed that an information-sharing mechanism exists under the PMLA to relay details about these properties to relevant law enforcement agencies.
“The inquiry has revealed a systematic approach used by Mayekar’s group, which involved targeting vulnerable land parcels, fabricating title documents including fake sale deeds, forged gift deeds, and counterfeit certificates purportedly issued by the comunidade, and leveraging these fraudulent documents to illegally mutate properties in the names of selected frontmen, who subsequently sold the properties, generating further POC,” the ED stated.
Further investigations are currently underway.
