ED attaches Rs 1,023-crore assets in Goa illegal mining case

Newdelhi,UPDATED: Jun 21, 2026 12:11 IST

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 1,023 crore, including properties in Singapore, in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal iron ore mining in Goa. The agency said the action was taken against the Salgaocar Groups and associates, also referred to as the AVS Group.

According to the ED, a provisional attachment order was issued on June 19 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with what it described as large-scale illegal iron ore mining. The agency said the total value of the attached assets is Rs 1,023.85 crore.

The ED said the attached assets include 99 immovable properties in India worth Rs 459.10 crore, 31 immovable properties in Singapore worth Rs 471.32 crore, and equity shares in Indian companies worth Rs 93.42 crore. These assets are held in the names of the Estate of Late Anil Salgaocar, through its administrator Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar, Salgaocar Mining Industries, Shantilal Khushaldas & Brothers, S Kantilal & Co., Salitho Ores, Vertex Newton Projects and Subarnarekha Port.

The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Goa Police CID. The ED said the Supreme Court, through its judgments in 2014 and 2018, held that all mining undertaken in Goa after 22.11.2007, till the issue of fresh mining leases, was illegal. The agency alleged that its probe found that the AVS Group operated 10 mining leases during 2007-12 and generated proceeds of crime of Rs 2,492.95 crore from the illegal extraction, sale and export of iron ore.

The ED alleged that the "illegally" mined ore was exported at "grossly undervalued" prices to shell entities, or special purpose vehicles, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. It said these entities acted as paper intermediaries and resold the ore to China, generating further offshore trade profits of Rs 2,744.89 crore. The total proceeds of crime, according to the agency, are Rs 5,237.84 crore. "These funds were layered through BVI and Singapore-based SPVs, utilised to acquire substantial movable and immovable assets abroad, and partly routed back into India in the guise of share capital," the ED alleged.

In sum, the ED said it has attached assets in India and Singapore worth Rs 1,023.85 crore as part of its probe into alleged illegal iron ore mining in Goa, in a case where it has estimated total proceeds of crime at Rs 5,237.84 crore.

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