MAPUSA
In yet another blow to Goa’s murky land dealings, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 15 properties in Bardez taluka after investigators uncovered a trail of forged wills, fabricated genealogical records and manipulated inventory proceedings used to usurp prime parcels of land.
The attachments, ordered under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, cover six properties in Revora, three each in Anjuna and Mapusa and one each in Nadora, Camurlim and Parra.
According to a public notice issued by the Deputy Director of ED’s Functional Unit-II, Panaji, the probe revealed that accused persons systematically grabbed land by creating fictitious heirs and forging family records, leaving the genuine owners or their descendants untraced till date.
The attached properties are worth several crores in today’s market. But investigators say the land was “stolen on paper” through manipulated inventory proceedings, creating fictitious successors to quietly transfer ownership before selling the parcels to unsuspecting buyers or powerful interests.
“This is not just a family dispute gone wrong. It is systemic land laundering, designed to convert black money into legal assets,” said a senior official, pointing out that Bardez’s coastal belt, with its skyrocketing land values, has become the epicentre of such frauds.
Trail of ghost owners
The ED’s notice lays bare how multiple properties were shown in the names of long-deceased individuals or those untraceable for decades “ from Domingos Casmiro D’Souza in Mapusa to Ditosa Agnelo Lobo in Camurlim.
In Revora alone, six survey numbers were fraudulently acquired using forged genealogical charts, with names of genuine heirs either altered or erased.
Officials believe such fraud thrives because many Goan families who migrated abroad never returned to claim or protect their ancestral properties.
“Fraudsters study land records, identify absentee owners and then manufacture heirs with the help of pliant notaries, lawyers and local fixers,” said an advocate specialising in property disputes.
The bigger nexus
While the ED notice names individual properties, sources say the attachment is part of a wider money laundering investigation into how dubious land deals feed Goa’s construction boom.
Once land is “cleaned” through fake succession, it can be sold to real estate developers, hospitality chains or benami fronts at market rates, masking the illicit origins of ownership.
“This is where politics and business intersect. Fraudulent land transfers rarely succeed without local collusion “ whether in revenue offices, survey departments or registrar’s offices. The gains are huge and the victims are often families who don’t even know their land is gone,” said a retired bureaucrat.
Warning for Goans
The ED has invited legitimate claimants to present ownership proof within 15 days at its Patto office. Failure to do so will pave the way for confirmation of attachment and possible disposal under law.
Legal experts say the Bardez case could be a turning point.
“For years, fraudulent genealogies were treated as private disputes. Now they are being seen as part of financial crime and money laundering. That changes the game,” said a Panaji-based lawyer.
For residents of Goa’s villages, where ancestral land remains both heritage and inheritance, the warning is clear: vigilance is the only defence against a racket that thrives in silence.
DETAILS OF PROPERTIES
ANJUNA: Survey Nos 76/13, 76/39 and 16/13, listed in the names of Anton Francis D’Souza, Paul D’Souza, Ciriaco Pedro D’Souza and Antonio Franciso D’Souza (as per Form I & XIV).
MAPUSA: Survey Nos 62/2, 62/3 and 62/7, recorded in the names of late Domingos Casmiro D’Souza and Domingo Cajmiro D’Souza.
REVORA: Survey Nos 47/7, 47/8, 47/10, 47/11, 46/26 and 63/19, listed under the names of Cajmir D’Souza, Anthony D’Souza, Teoton D’Souza, Antoni D’Souza, Jusefina D’Cruz, Simao Benjamin Silveira, Alex Alexin, Anton Joao D’Souza and others.
NADORA: Survey No 46/3, shown in the name of Francis D’Souza.
CAMURLIM: Survey No 129/5, in the name of Ditosa Agnelo Lobo alias Ditosa Lobo.
PARRA: Survey No 210/10, listed under the names of Walter D’Costa, Bela Souza, Domnik D’Souza and Anton D’Souza.
