In a major crack down on financial fraud, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally at tached movable and im movable properties worth Rs 1,023.85 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The action is con nected to an alleged illegal iron ore mining case involv ing a prominent corporate collective of Goan mining and industrial firms. According to a statement issued by the ED’s Panjim Zonal Office, the attachment was carried out through a Provisional Attachment Order dated June 19, 2026. The attached assets include properties located in India and Singapore.
The ED stated that the attached assets comprise 99 immovable properties in India valued at Rs 459.10 crore, 31 immovable prop erties in Singapore worth Rs 471.32 crore, and equity shares in Indian companies valued at Rs 93.42 crore. These assets are reported ly held in the names of the estate of a late industrialist, represented by the admin istratrix, as well as several associated companies. The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Goa CID Crime Branch for alleged offences under various laws, including the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Cor ruption Act, and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. The ED noted that the Su preme Court, in judgments delivered in 2014 and 2018, held that mining op erations carried out in Goa after November 22, 2007, until the issuance of fresh mining leases, were illegal and lacked lawful authority.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
According to the agency, its investigation found that the corporate collective operated 10 mining leases between 2007 and 2012 and allegedly generated Rs 2,492.95 crore through the illegal extraction, sale, and export of iron ore. The ED further alleged that the ore was exported at significantly undervalued prices to shell entities incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, which subsequently resold it to buyers in China. The agency claimed that these transactions generated additional offshore trade profits of approximately Rs 2,744.89 crore, taking the estimated total pro ceeds of crime to about Rs 5,237.84 crore. Investigators also alleged that the funds were routed through entities based in the British Virgin Islands and Singapore, used to acquire assets overseas, and partially brought back into India in the form of share capital investments. The ED said that further investigation into the matter is currently underway.
