PANJIM: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached eight immovable properties worth Rs. 11.82 crore in possession of three Goans in connection with the alleged money laundering investigation conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 related to illegal grabbing of land in Goa.
The ED initiated investigation against Estevan D’Souza, Moses Fernandes and Samir Korgaonkar on the basis of the FIR registered by the Porvorim police station on October 20, 2013 and FIR registered by the Economic Offence Cell (EOC) dated February 26, 2014, under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, regarding illegally grabbing of land/properties by impersonating the original owner of the property and thereby cheating the buyers.
The ED investigation revealed that the accused persons for the purpose of illegally grabbing the land, identified properties where the actual owner of the property had died without any legal heir or the legal heir was living outside India. After identifying the properties which fits the description, the accused committed offences punishable under of section 419, 420 and 471 of IPC by means of forgery and impersonating the original owner of the property and subsequently by executing sale deed or irreversible power of attorney in their own name, they took possession of these properties illegally.
Further investigation is in progress, the ED stated.
On October 20, 2013, septuagenarian Otilia Mascarenhas of Alto-Porvorim had lodged her complaint against Moses Fernandes of Vasswado, Benaulim and Jose Avito Pinto do Rosario alias Joseph A Pinto, address not known for allegedly preparing forged sale deed of her house situated in survey number 385/6 of Village Socorro and criminally trespassed into the property and house and committed theft of valuable articles like antique double bed, carved altar, windows, carved wooden arcs and other antique items and also damaged her ancestral house.
The Porvorim police had arrested Moses Fernandes on November 22, 2013 and was later released on bail.