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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 19 immovable properties spread across Anjuna, Assagao and Ucassaim in North Goa, covering more than five lakh square metres and valued at about INR 1,268.6 crore. The action, undertaken earlier this week under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), follows ongoing investigations into an alleged land-grab network. Officials stated that forged allotment certificates, fabricated demarcation orders and falsified historical sale and gift deeds were used to mutate community and privately held land before transferring it through frontmen. Earlier actions by the ED had included freezing bank accounts and other assets worth INR 12.8 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate has attached 19 land parcels in North Goa-spread across Anjuna, Assagao and Ucassaim-measuring over five lakh square metres and collectively valued at nearly INR 1,268.6 crore. The attachments, executed earlier this week under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, stem from a continuing investigation into a suspected land-grab syndicate operating across multiple villages. Advertisement
Officials indicated that the fraudulent acquisition of these properties was allegedly orchestrated by a group headed by Shivshankar Mayekar. Investigators stated that the accused relied on forged documents, including allotment certificates traditionally issued by comunidades, certificates of final possession, and fabricated demarcation orders. Historical sale and gift deeds were also allegedly forged to enable illegal mutations in land records.
Once the records were altered, the agency reported that various parcels were transferred to frontmen, many of whom were close associates or relatives. Portions of these lands were subsequently sold to unsuspecting buyers, generating proceeds the ED has categorised as illicit gains.
This latest action follows previous steps taken by the agency. In earlier rounds of enforcement, bank accounts and additional assets worth INR 12.8 crore were seized. Before this, the agency had attached multiple other properties in Bardez-Taluka villages such as Calangute, Nerul, Parra and Anjuna, with valuations running into several hundred crores. Those attachments were linked to the same broader investigation into manipulated land records.
The case originated from a First Information Report lodged by Goa Police, which had highlighted alleged illegal mutation of comunidade land in Anjuna. The land in question, belonging to the local comunidade, had reportedly been transferred using forged internal records and manipulated revenue entries. The FIR named several individuals, including Mayekar, for facilitating unauthorised transfer of land traditionally held in common ownership.
Mayekar, who was arrested earlier this year and remains in judicial custody, now faces additional FIRs registered over the past month for suspected illegal land mutations in Anjuna and Assagao. According to investigators, multiple other land parcels have emerged as suspicious during the scrutiny of older comunidade registers, and further details have been circulated internally under the information-sharing framework of PMLA.
Officials involved in the case described the activities as part of a systemic arrangement in which community-owned or heritage land parcels were identified for fraudulent takeover using forged documentation, before being diverted into private ownership through layered transactions. The ED has stated that the attached properties will remain frozen until the completion of the investigation to prevent any further transfers.
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