Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Jun 21: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 1,023.85 crore, including properties located in Singapore, in connection with an alleged large-scale illegal iron ore mining case involving the Salgaocar Group and its associated entities in Goa.
According to an official statement issued on Sunday, the attachment was carried out by the ED's Panaji Zonal Office through a provisional attachment order dated June 19 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The agency said the case relates to extensive illegal mining activities allegedly undertaken by the Salgaocar Group and its associate companies, collectively referred to as the AVS Group.
The attached assets include 99 immovable properties in India valued at Rs 459.10 crore, 31 properties in Singapore worth Rs 471.32 crore and equity shares in Indian companies amounting to Rs 93.42 crore.
According to the ED, these assets are held in the names of the Estate of Late Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar, represented by administratrix Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar, along with several associated entities, including Salgaocar Mining Industries, Shantilal Khushaldas & Brothers, S. Kantilal & Co, Salitho Ores, Vertex Newton Projects and Subarnarekha Port.
The investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Goa CID Crime Branch under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
The ED also referred to Supreme Court judgments delivered on April 21, 2014, and February 7, 2018, which held that all mining operations conducted in Goa after November 22, 2007, until the issuance of fresh mining leases, were illegal and lacked lawful authority.
Investigators alleged that the AVS Group operated 10 mining leases between 2007 and 2012 and generated proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 2,492.95 crore through the illegal extraction, sale and export of iron ore.
According to the agency, the ore was exported at significantly undervalued prices to shell companies established in the British Virgin Islands, which allegedly functioned as intermediary entities before reselling the ore to buyers in China.
The ED claimed these offshore transactions generated additional profits of Rs 2,744.89 crore.
As a result, the total proceeds of crime in the case have been estimated at nearly Rs 5,237.84 crore.
The agency further alleged that the funds were layered through special purpose vehicles based in the British Virgin Islands and Singapore, used to acquire substantial assets abroad and partly reintroduced into India in the form of share capital investments.
The ED said investigations are continuing to trace the money trail and identify additional assets linked to the alleged illegal mining operations.