Goa land grab scam valuation likely to exceed Rs 1,200 crore: ED

Panaji: The total market valuation of the land parcels allegedly illegally grabbed by Yeshwant Sawant and others is likely to exceed Rs 1,200 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Panaji, has revealed, reports Murari Shetye. The ED conducted search operations on Monday and Tuesday at 13 residential and commercial premises across Goa and Hyderabad in the alleged land grab case, seizing Rs 72 lakh and seven high-end cars.

The searches were carried out in connection with the illegal land grabbing of comunidade lands in Goa under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by Goa police under various sections of the BNS concerning the illegal acquisition of land belonging to the comunidade of Anjuna.The ED’s investigation and search operation revealed that the accused persons illegally mutated more than 3.5 lakh square metres of land located in prime areas of Goa, such as Anjuna and Assagao, in their names, using forged documents.

These documents were submitted to the concerned authorities to facilitate the mutation process.A portion of these properties was sold to various persons, generating additional proceeds of crime to the tune of crores of rupees. The total market valuation of the implicated land parcels illegally grabbed by the accused persons is likely to exceed Rs 1,200 crore, ED said.During the search operations, multiple bank accounts and fixed deposits belonging to the individuals involved in these transactions were frozen, ED said.

Various incriminating documents related to these land transactions were also recovered and seized during the operation. The ongoing investigation is likely to expose a wider network of persons engaged in illegal land grabbing across Goa, ED said.In April, Mapusa police registered an FIR against a married couple in connection with an alleged land grabbing case involving the Anjuna comunidade. The attorney of the comunidade, Sebastian D’Souza, alleged in his complaint that Yeshwant and Minakshi Sawant, residents of Assagao, along with unidentified individuals, unlawfully prevented him from exercising his property rights over a two lakh square metre area of land at Anjuna before Feb 19, 2024.