Panaji: Sleuths from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out raids at multiple locations in Goa on Thursday and Friday in connection with a major land scam worth ₹1,000 crore, a senior official said.
In a media statement released on Friday evening, the ED stated that it had conducted search operations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), at several locations in Goa on April 24 and April 25, 2025.
The ED said the searches were conducted based on intelligence inputs and a subsequent financial investigation, which revealed that one person, namely Rohan Harmalkar, is the key mastermind. Along with other associates, he allegedly conspired on a large scale to illegally appropriate land belonging to rightful owners through fraudulent means including impersonation, creation of fake documents, tampering with revenue records, and more.
Harmalkar is a local politician who contested the 2022 Goa Legislative Assembly election as an Independent candidate from the Cumbharjua constituency in North Goa.
According to the ED, the properties—originally owned by individuals and family estates—were unlawfully sold without the owners’ consent, causing serious financial and legal distress to the victims.
The searches uncovered incriminating property documents, the current market value of which exceeds ₹1,000 crore. These include forged title deeds indicating manipulation of land records and fraudulent transfers of high-value land parcels spanning several lakhs of square meters in prime tourist hotspots such as Anjuna, Arpora, and Assagao in Bardez taluka.
Additionally, original documents of immovable properties worth more than ₹600 crore were seized during the search action, the agency added.
The ED further stated that the proceeds of crime generated through these fraudulent activities were laundered via various individuals and benami entities and finally invested into real estate, luxury vehicles, and other high-value assets.
Further investigation is underway to trace the money trail, identify other beneficiaries, and determine the roles of additional individuals, including government officials, involved in the illegal property transactions.
