ED attaches assets worth Rs 3cr in investment fraud

Margao: The Enforcement Directorate’s Panaji zonal office provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 3 crore in connection with a fraudulent investment scheme allegedly operated by Myron Rodrigues and others, bringing the total value of attached assets in the case to nearly Rs 6 crore.The latest attachment, carried out on Feb 18 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, followed an earlier provisional attachment order issued in Nov 2024, when properties and bank deposits valued at approximately Rs 3 crore were seized.The ED initiated its probe on the basis of FIRs registered by the economic offences cell, North Goa, and the MHB Colony police station in Mumbai, under IPC Sections 406 and 420 — relating to criminal breach of trust and cheating.Investigations revealed that Rodrigues and his associates allegedly lured multiple investors with false promises of high and assured returns from stock market investments and other business ventures. Funds collected from victims through RTGS, NEFT, and other banking channels were allegedly diverted for personal use and asset acquisition rather than being invested as promised.ED determined that the proceeds of crime amount to approximately Rs 15 crore. These funds were allegedly used to acquire fixed deposits, and immovable properties, which were then projected as legitimate assets to conceal their illicit origin.