ED conducts raids in Goa and Pune in Rs 10 lakh land grabbing case

Panaji, July 5 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, carried out search operations at eight locations across Goa and Pune on July 4 in connection with an illegal land grabbing case.

The raids were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

The action was taken based on an FIR registered by Porvorim Police Station in North Goa, which alleged a criminal conspiracy to fraudulently acquire an ancestral property measuring 5,000 sq. meters at Survey No. 210/5 in Socorro, North Goa, said the press release of the ED. The property belongs to the complainant, Jeronimo Oliveiro Desouza, said a release.

The ED is investigating the role of John Paul Valles, Sandeep Vazarkar, and their associates in allegedly orchestrating the conspiracy. According to officials, the accused allegedly fabricated inventory proceeding No. 134/2019/C, falsely claiming that the father of two women, Sandra De Sa and Maureen Saldanha, were the same person as the complainant’s late father. This fraudulent declaration enabled the transfer of ownership to the two women.

John Paul Valles subsequently secured a Power of Attorney (POA) from the women in Pune and proceeded to subdivide the property, selling multiple plots to different buyers.

Sandeep Vazarkar, who accompanied Valles to Pune for the execution of the POA, admitted during the investigation to have received Rs 10 lakh as brokerage, said the agency. Authorities also detected large, unexplained cash deposits in his bank accounts.

During the searches, ED officials seized multiple electronic devices and a significant volume of documents, including Deeds of Sale, POAs, and inventory proceeding records. A diary listing cash transactions was also recovered. The seizures were made from premises linked to Sandeep Vazarkar, John Paul Valles, Sandeep Manjrekar, and Avinash Naik.

Officials say the recovered evidence is expected to yield key leads in tracing the proceeds of crime and advancing the probe into the land-grabbing conspiracy. Further investigation is underway.

--IANS

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