Panaji: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, has filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before the Special Court at Merces against two priests, including then Procurators of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, the then Inspector of Survey and Land Records, City Survey Panaji, Prabhakar Rama Hawaldar, and a private real estate development firm as a legal entity in a case relating to the alleged fraudulent deprivation of tenancy rights over a parcel of land at Caranzalem, Panaji.
ED said the investigation stems from an FIR registered by Panaji Police under various sections of the IPC on a complaint alleging that between November 18, 2004, and December 5, 2006, the accused conspired to record the name of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman in the Holder’s column of Form ‘B’ pertaining to a parcel of land bearing Chalta No. 44 of P T Sheet No. 162 of City Survey, Panaji, admeasuring 2,479 sqm, by using forged documents, thereby depriving the original tenant family of its lawful tenancy rights.
On the basis of the FIR, ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR). During the investigation, ED conducted searches under Section 17 of the PMLA on December 16, 2025, in Goa, resulting in the recovery of incriminating loose sheets and electronic devices.
ED said its financial investigation revealed that the accused, in collusion with one another, used forged documents to fraudulently register the land in the name of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, enabling its subsequent sale to a private real estate development firm through a sale deed dated April 9, 2007, for Rs 61,97,500.
According to ED, a residential-cum-commercial project was subsequently developed on the land and units were sold to multiple buyers, generating and possessing proceeds of crime quantified at approximately Rs 27.1 crore.
ED said it had earlier issued a Provisional Attachment Order attaching immovable properties worth around Rs 27.1 crore.
