PANJIM: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court, Mapusa, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a money laundering case against 36 persons in the matter of illegal land grabbing in the State.
The Special Court has taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint on May 13, 2024.
The ED initiated investigation on the basis of various FIRs registered in different police stations in the State in the matter of illegal land grabbing in Goa.
Further an SIT (land grab) has been formed by the Goa Police to investigate all such illegal land grabbing cases in Goa. The SIT (land grab) is investigating 41 such land grabbing cases.
The ED investigation revealed that the accused persons were involved in the creation of forged and fabricated documents in the names of themselves and their associates and illegally acquired several properties and further sold some of these properties and generated proceeds of crime.
Earlier, the ED had attached 31 such properties having approximate value of Rs 535 crore vide provisional attachment order dated November 23, 2023. Further properties in respect of which no complaints/FIRs were registered, were also attached by ED as they were illegally acquired properties.
Two persons namely Rajkumar Maithi of Miramar and Vikrant Shetty from Gogol-Margao, were arrested by ED during the course of investigation for their involvement in illegal land grabbing in Goa and are presently in judicial custody.
On April 13 this year, the ED filed more than 4,750 pages chargesheet against 36 accused before the Special Court at Mapusa, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
In the chargesheet, the ED has stated that the prime accused Mohammed Suhail of Davengere, Karnataka colluded with Rajkumar Maithi, Vikrant Shetty and others and hatched a criminal conspiracy to grab the large tracts of lands belonging to persons who had rightfully inherited the property.
They took help of other accused in order to show the illegal land grab in their names as genuine and legal by promising to give them huge amounts and they were made to give marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates of their ancestors and the birth certificates and marriage certificates of themselves in order to forge and fabricate the succession records as well as the land records to show the inheritance as genuine.
Further the accused conspired with the officers/officials of the Department of Archives to allow them access to the revenue/land records so that they could replace/insert the forged/fabricated documents in the revenue records.
The accused persons also fabricated documents using the names of the ancestors of their associates and created documents to show that the actual owners of the properties had long back sold the said properties to the ancestors of these associates and the said properties were projected to be legally inherited
Investigations conducted under PMLA also revealed that there are various properties which have been acquired illegally by these fraudsters in collusion with each other and got it mutated in the name of their associates.
The accused illegally acquired property and sold it for crores of rupees and the main accused received consideration amount in cash. Further investigation is under progress, the ED stated.
