Goa: ED seizes Rs 16 lakh after raids against illegal forex trading

Panaji, Sep 29 In a crackdown on illegal foreign exchange trading, the ED conducted searches under FEMA, 1999, in Goa’s Mapusa and seized foreign currency equivalent to Rs 3 lakh and Indian currency amounting to Rs 13 lakh, an official said on Monday.

The searches at the premises of Loja Shamu, situated at 22, Mapusa Municipal Market, Mapusa, Goa, were conducted on September 26, the official said.

The ED, Panaji Zonal Office, conducted the search operation on the basis of specific input received from the Airport Customs, Goa, regarding the seizure of foreign exchange worth $35,000.

During the searches on September 26, the ED also seized incriminating evidence and two mobile phones, the official said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the ED’s Panaji Zonal Office conducted search operations at 13 residential and commercial premises across Goa and Hyderabad in the case of Yeshwant Sawant and others.

The searches were carried out on September 9-10, in connection with the illegal land grabbing of Communidade lands in Goa, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Goa Police under various sections of the IPC, 1860, concerning the illegal acquisition of land belonging to the Communidade of Anjuna.

According to the ED, the “investigation and search operation revealed that the accused persons had illegally mutated more than 3,50,000 sq. meters of land located at prime areas of Goa like Anjuna and Assagaon, in their names using forged old documents, which were submitted to the concerned authorities to facilitate the mutation process.”

Further, a portion of these properties was sold to various persons, generating additional Proceeds of Crime (POC) to the tune of crores of rupees.

“The total market valuation of the implicated land parcels illegally grabbed by the accused persons is likely to exceed Rs 1,200 crore,” the ED said in a press statement.

During the search operations, cash amounting to approximately Rs 72 Lakh was seized, and seven high-end vehicles, viz. Porsche Cayman, BMW 650 L., Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz, BMW M5 and Audi A-6 were seized.

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