In accordance with section 37A (1) of the FEMA, 1999, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed a seizure order against the estate of the late Anil Salgaocar and confiscated the shares owned by this estate in connection with the foreign assets held by the late Anil Salgaocar outside of India.
On the basis of the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers revelations, where it is claimed that Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar, a resident of Goa, had formed many BVI businesses, the ED launched an inquiry against the late Anil Salgaocar.
According to an ED investigation, the late Anil Salgaocar controlled iron ore mines in Goa and Karnataka, and the iron ore that these mines generated was only supplied to SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles) in BVI and Singapore. These SPVs did not register with the Indian government and operated as trading firms selling China iron ore produced in India, moving profit away from India in the process.
Through Salgaocar’s iron ore trading activities, the 05 BVI businesses of the late Anil Salgaocar earned a profit of about USD 690,650,641 (about Rs. 5718 Crore). The identical situation was not disclosed to the Indian authorities.
Thus, for a total of USD 69,06,50,641 (about Rs. 5718 Crore), Late Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar violated the terms of section 4 of the FEMA, 1999 by collecting foreign currency and keeping assets outside of India. As a result, ED has confiscated all 33 firms’ shares of Late Anil Salgaocar, ranging from 1% to 99.9%, which have been transferred to the Estate of Late Anil Salgaocar. These 33 corporations are the owners of 441 immovable properties, most of which are in Goa but also a handful in Mumbai and Karnataka.
