Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Sep 29: In a major crackdown on financial and real estate crimes, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash, foreign currency, and luxury vehicles following multiple raids in Goa and Hyderabad, targeting illegal foreign exchange trading and a massive land scam involving prime properties worth over Rs 1,200 crore.

In its latest action on September 26, ED officers from the Panaji Zonal Office searched a premises in Mapusa Municipal Market, Goa, allegedly operated by Loja Shamu, after receiving inputs from Airport Customs about the seizure of $35,000 in undeclared foreign currency. During the raid, officials recovered foreign currency worth Rs 3 lac, Indian currency worth Rs 13 lac, and two mobile phones, along with other incriminating documents.

This operation follows an earlier set of raids conducted on September 9 and 10, when the ED searched 13 residential and commercial premises across Goa and Hyderabad in connection with a land grabbing scam linked to accused Yeshwant Sawant and others. The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and stemmed from an FIR filed by Goa Police.

According to the ED, the accused illegally mutated over 3.5 lakh sq. meters of Communidade land—ancestral land held by village communities—in prime locations like Anjuna and Assagaon, using forged documents. These falsified records were then submitted to government offices to transfer ownership fraudulently.

A significant portion of the illegally acquired land was later sold to unsuspecting buyers, generating crores in illicit profits. The ED has pegged the current market value of the scam-linked land at over Rs 1,200 crore.

As part of the enforcement action, the ED seized Rs 72 lac in cash and seven luxury cars, including a Porsche Cayman, BMW 650L, BMW M5, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz, and a Range Rover.

Investigations into both the forex violations and the land scam are ongoing, and further action is expected in the coming weeks.