Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily attached 31 immovable properties in the state of Goa, valued at Rs. 39.24 Crore (circle rate), as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation against multiple individuals connected to the unlawful purchase of real estate.
Based on many FIRs against Vikrant Shetty, Mohammed Suhail, Rajkumar Maithi, and other suspected individuals implicated in the unlawful seizure of real estate throughout the state of Goa, the ED opened an investigation. The Goa government then established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Goa Police to look into the situation.
The results of the ED investigation showed that the accused individuals, or their acquaintances’ or relatives’ names, had unlawfully obtained a number of real estate holdings. In order to bolster their allegation that the real estate belonged to their relatives, the accused individuals inserted counterfeit documents into the property records. By creating succession deeds and inventories, they were able to have their names altered or added to the land records using these falsified papers. The accused sold a small number of these unlawfully obtained properties to purchasers from Goa and other States. Further research is now being conducted.
