NT Reporter Panaji
The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED), Panaji zonal office, has filed a complaint before the Special Court, North Goa, against Rohan Harmalkar, Alcantro D’Souza, Estevan Elvis D’Souza, Mohammad Suhail and Samir Kalidas Satardekar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in connection with the alleged multi-crore land frauds in Bardez taluka.
The ED began its probe based on two FIRs filed by Goa Police—one at the Mapusa police station and another at the Crime Branch police station, Ribandar—for offences including cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
The ED investigation has revealed that the accused, led by Harmalkar, fraudulently acquired several immovable properties by forging documents such as wills, inventory records, genealogical data, and sale deeds. “These properties were then projected as untainted and sold to third parties, thereby laundering the proceeds of crime,” said ED.
Searches conducted under Section 17(1) of the PMLA led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital evidence and the freezing of several bank accounts.
Harmalkar, a businessman-turned-politician, was arrested on June 3, 2025, under Section 19 of PMLA and remains in judicial custody. The ED said he played a central role in orchestrating the forgeries, coordinating fake documents, and receiving large financial considerations through cash and banking channels.
“So far, multiple immovable properties constituting direct proceeds of crime valued at over Rs 212.85 crore have been provisionally attached under the PMLA,” said ED. The ED stated
that they are in the process of tracing and attaching the remaining assets, which could potentially be significantly larger, in order to completely unravel the laundering operation.
