New Delhi [India], December 1 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 19 immovable properties admeasuring over five lakh square meters in the premium locations in Goa's three villages valued at Rs 1,268.63 crore in connection with a land scam case involving Yeshwant Sawant and others.
ED's Panaji zonal office attached these properties in Anjuna, Assagaon and Ucassaim villages in Goa on November 27 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
ED says these properties were allegedly "illegally acquired using fabricated and forged land title documents, including aforamento and allotment certificates, certificates of final possession, Auto de Demarcacão (Certificate of demarcation), historical deeds of sale, deeds of gift, and other falsified records."
Earlier, during search operations conducted on September 9, 2025 and October 10, 2025, the ED had seized and frozen bank accounts and other valuable assets amounting to INR 12.85 crore.
ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Goa Police against under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, for defrauding the Communidade of Anjuna in relation to land situated at Survey No. 496/1-A, Anjuna.
"The accused allegedly procured fraudulent mutation of the land in their names by submitting fabricated and forged documents before the concerned authorities, and thereafter sold parts of the said land to third parties, thereby generating additional Proceeds of Crime (POC)," said the ED in a statement.
ED investigation revealed that the alleged accused was a key conspirator, having illegally acquired multiple land parcels in Goa in the names of his friends and relatives.
The alleged accused was arrested by the ED on October 1, 2025 and is presently in judicial custody.
Further, the ED said, it was unearthed that four additional FIRs have been registered against the accused persons with respect to the illegal acquisition of land in the Anjuna and Assagaon areas.
"The investigation has further identified several additional land parcels that are suspected to have been acquired through similar fraudulent methods. There is an information sharing mechanism under PMLA, through which information regarding these properties is being shared with the concerned Law Enforcement Agency," said the ED.
"The inquiry has brought to light a systematic modus operandi adopted by the group, which involved - Identifying vulnerable land parcels, fabricating title documents such as fake sale deeds, forged gift deeds, and counterfeit certificates purportedly issued by the Communidade and the Administrator of Communidades, and using these forged documents to fraudulently mutate properties in the names of chosen frontmen, who subsequently disposed of them to generate further POC," said the federal agency.