Properties in Pilerne, held in the name of accused’s grandmother, were attached
PANAJI
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji, has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 60.05 crore in its ongoing investigation against alleged land grab accused Estevan D’Souza and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached properties, located in Pilerne, Bardez, are in the name of Rosa Maria D’Souza, the grandmother of the accused. The ED claims these assets were illegally acquired using forged sale deeds and fake affidavit-cum-No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
“This attachment adds to a previous Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) dated November 8, 2023, in which properties worth Rs 11.82 crore were attached. That earlier attachment was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority on April 8, 2024,” the agency said.
This action comes nearly two months after the ED filed a Prosecution Complaint against Estevan D’Souza and others, based on a chargesheet filed by the Goa Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, for alleged cheating, forgery and fraudulent transfer of property.
The ED stated that Estevan, along with alleged land grab mastermind Mohammed Suhail and others, ran a systematic land scam.
“The group forged land-related documents, including sale deeds, and misused them to fraudulently claim ownership of several high-value properties,” it said, adding that the accused used the forged documents as genuine to give an appearance of legal validity to unlawful transactions.
The ED further found that the accused allegedly targeted unattended properties where the owners had died without heirs or where the heirs were living abroad. They reportedly used forged documents and impersonators to carry out fraudulent sale deeds and irrevocable powers of attorney.
