Panaji: Panaji zonal office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has frozen six decentralised crypto wallets containing crypto currencies worth around 1.5 lakh USDT during search operations conducted at six locations across Goa, New Delhi and Chandigarh under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The search operations were conducted in connection with the ongoing probe into an alleged comunidade land scam involving Yeshwant Sawant and others.
Notes and digital records indicating investment of cash, allegedly generated from a prominent club in Goa, into various land parcels connected to key individuals involved in land-grabbing were also recovered during the operation conducted on October 10.
According to ED, the search operations were undertaken at the premises of Umar Zahoor Shah and Neeraj Sharma, both partners of M/s Thinking of You, and Rajesh Kumar, one of the directors of M/s Purple Martini Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
Officials in ED said they have also recovered several incriminating documents, including Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and lease agreements pertaining to multiple land parcels that were fraudulently acquired by forging title documents across Goa.
“These documents were executed between key individuals involved in the land-grabbing activities and other associated persons. The investigation is ongoing to determine the involvement of additional individuals and to uncover the full extent of the illegal land-related activities in Goa,” said ED officials.
It may be noted that ED had initiated a probe on the basis of an FIR registered by Goa police against Sawant and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), for allegedly defrauding the comunidade of Anjuna of its land.
The accused are alleged to have produced fake and forged documents and subsequently sold portions of land to other individuals, thereby generating Proceeds of Crime (PoC).
On September 9, 2025, the ED had conducted search operations that led to the identification of several land parcels fraudulently acquired by Shivshankar Mayekar and others in names of their friends and relatives. These properties, spanning several lakh square metres, are located in prime tourist areas such as Anjuna and Assagao.
Officials in ED said the total market valuation of the implicated land parcels illegally grabbed by the accused persons is likely to exceed Rs 1,200 crore.
During the earlier search operations, cash of Rs 72 lakh was seized apart from seven high-end vehicles like Porsche Cayman, BMW 650 L. Range Rover, Mercedes Benz, BMW M5 and Audi A-6. Multiple bank accounts/fixed deposits belonging to the individuals involved in these transactions were also frozen.
Mayekar was arrested on October 1, 2025, for his alleged involvement in the illegal acquisition of these land parcels and he is currently in judicial custody.
