Conspiracy of land grab, forgery by criminal syndicate being probed
PANAJI
Days after arresting land grab accused Rohan Harmalkar, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Panaji has provisionally attached immovable properties situated across various prime locations in the State, having a total value of Rs 212.85 Crore.
The ED stated that the seizures were carried out under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, in connection with an ongoing investigation into a sprawling conspiracy of land grabbing and forgery perpetrated by an organized criminal syndicate led by Harmalkar and his accomplices.
On June 3, the ED arrested the local for his alleged involvement in illegally acquiring large tracts of unattended land particularly in Bardez taluka. Harmalkar, who had contested and lost the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, allegedly had several buyers from the NCR and other northern states lined up for properties valued at over Rs 1,000 crore. During the investigation, the ED also seized original property documents linked to assets worth over Rs 600 crore. His client base included persons and businesses from Delhi-NCR, Haryana and other parts of North India.
“ED initiated investigation on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Goa Police against Harmalkar and other co-accused of offences including forgery, cheating, impersonation, and use of counterfeit documents to fraudulently acquire land parcels in North Goa. ED investigation revealed that Rohan Harmalkar, in active conspiracy with Alcantro D’Souza and others, orchestrated a meticulously planned criminal enterprise to misappropriate multiple high-value properties situated in Anjuna, Revora, Nadora, Camurlim, Parra, and other adjoining areas falling within Bardez and Mapusa,” the ED further stated.
The PMLA investigation disclosed the use of forged genealogical records, fabricated sale deeds, counterfeit wills, manipulated inventory proceedings and other fraudulent documents, by the accused, to falsely claim title over valuable immovable properties and to camouflage the same as legitimately held assets thereby generating substantial Proceeds of Crime (POC), as defined under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA.
“The part of POC was received directly by Harmalkar, D’Souza and others and subsequently routed through accounts of their family members and associates. The illicit gains so acquired were routed through bank accounts of the key conspirators and their family members, thereby layering and integrating the tainted funds to project them as untainted,” it added.
The agency also mentioned that they are making efforts to trace and attach the remaining POC, which may be substantially higher, to fully unravel the extent of the laundering operation. Harmalkar is currently in judicial custody.
