Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: In the course of its money laundering investigation into the suspected multi-crore land grab scheme, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confiscated more than 20 property documents.
According to ED officials, on December 31, 2024, a raid was carried out at the homes of Estevan D’Souza in Goa Velha and Alcantro D’Souza in Mapusa, two of the defendants in land grab cases.
More than 20 documents pertaining to property were seized, according to ED officials, and they are currently being examined.
In conjunction with the money laundering investigation against many individuals involved in the suspected multi-crore land grab scheme, the ED seized 19 separate land properties in December of last year. Eight of the 19 properties in dispute are in Assagao, and the remaining 11 are in Anjuna.
The results of the ED’s investigation showed that the accused had unlawfully purchased a number of real estate properties under their names or the names of their acquaintances or family members. In order to prove that the immovable properties belonged to their ancestors, the accused filed forged documents in the land records, according to the ED.
They also claimed that they were able to update or insert their names in the land records by creating succession deeds and inventories using these forged documents.
The ED estimated the amount of the “proceeds of crime” to be over Rs 535 crore and filed a chargesheet against 36 accused individuals before the Special Court in Mapusa in April 2024.
The ED temporarily attached 31 Goan real estate holdings valued at Rs 39.24 crore in November 2023. Vikrant Shetty, Mohammed Suhail, Rajkumar Maithi, and other accused individuals involved in unlawful land grabbing in the state were the subject of many FIRs filed by Goa police, which prompted the Enforcement Directorate to launch an inquiry under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
