Latest news with #Harmalkar
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
ED arrests ‘mastermind' in multi-crore Goa land scam
Panaji: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Rohan Harmalkar in connection with an alleged land scam in Goa. Harmalkar contested the state assembly polls in 2022 from the Cumbharjua constituency as an independent candidate. The ED issued five summonses to alleged mastermind Harmalkar to appear before it and join the investigation. He appeared before the ED on Tuesday and joined the investigation, but was arrested as he failed to cooperate. He was subsequently produced before a special court in Panaji and remanded in 14 days of ED custody. In April, the ED searched Harmalkar's office and residences in connection with an alleged land scam, and seized documents pertaining to immovable properties worth over Rs 600 crore. The operation also uncovered incriminating documents of properties — the current market value of which exceeds Rs 1,000 crore — including forged title deeds, indicating manipulation of land records and fraudulent transfers of high-value land parcels spanning several lakhs of square metres in places like Anjuna, Arpora and Assagao. On April 24, the ED registered a case against Harmalkar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like تعرف على ما يؤثر على أسعار السيارات المستعملة وكيفية الاختيار بحكمة Visionary Echo ابحث الآن Undo Goa police also registered an FIR against him in connection with an alleged land grab case at Anjuna. The ED said the searches were conducted based on intelligence and subsequent financial investigation, which revealed that Harmalkar is a mastermind and the he, along with other associates, resorted to a large-scale conspiracy to illegally appropriate land belonging to rightful owners through fraudulent means, including impersonation, creation of fake documents, and tampering with revenue records. During the search, the ED also found that proceeds generated from the crime were laundered through various individuals and benami entities and finally invested in real estate, luxury vehicles, and other high-value assets. The ED said that the investigation is ongoing to trace the money trail, identify other beneficiaries, and the roles of other persons — including govt officials — connected with illegal property transactions.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
ED arrests ‘mastermind' of Goa land scam – MGP leader Rohan Harmalkar
The Enforcement Directorate Tuesday night arrested Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader and businessman Rohan Harmalkar, who is alleged to be a mastermind in a multi-crore land scam in Goa, for hatching a conspiracy to illegally appropriate land through forged title deeds and selling several properties unlawfully without the consent of their rightful owners. Harmalkar unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Goa Assembly election as an independent candidate from the Cumbarjua constituency after he was denied a ticket by the BJP. He joined the MGP in 2024. The arrest comes after ED carried out raids at multiple locations on April 24 and 25 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the alleged scam. Harmalkar was produced in a PMLA court in Goa Wednesday and remanded to ED custody for 14 days. He was previously named in two cases of land grabbing, which are being probed by the Goa police's Special Investigation Team (SIT). In November last year, he was arrested by the Goa police for allegedly assaulting a businessman in Arpora. The ED claimed the searches uncovered incriminating property documents, whose estimated current market value exceeds Rs 1,000 crore — including forged title deeds — indicating manipulation of land records and fraudulent transfers of high-value land parcels spanning several lakhs of square metres in prime tourist hotspots like Anjuna, Arpora and Assagao in Bardez Taluka. In a press statement on April 25, ED had said: 'The searches were conducted based on intelligence and subsequent financial investigation conducted in this case which revealed that one person namely Rohan Harmalkar is a key mastermind, who along with other associates resorted to a large-scale conspiracy to illegally appropriate land belonging to rightful owners through fraudulent means including impersonation, creation of fake documents, tampering with revenue records'. The agency alleged these properties, originally owned by individuals and family estates, were unlawfully sold without their consent, causing serious financial and legal distress to such victims. 'Additionally, original documents of immovable properties worth more than Rs 600 crore were seized during the search action. It was further unearthed during the search that the proceeds of crime generated were further laundered through various individuals and benami entities and finally invested into real estate, luxury vehicles and other high-value assets. Further investigation is ongoing to trace the money trail, identify other beneficiaries and the roles of other persons, including government officials connected with the process of illegal property transactions,' ED had said. The Goa government formed an SIT on June 15, 2022, to investigate cases of illegal land transfer and land grabbing using forged documents. The SIT probed 44 FIRs involving more than 100 properties – nearly 1.5 lakh square metres of land – and made 56 arrests (until December 2024), including some officials from the Archives Department. The state government appointed a Commission of Inquiry headed by former Bombay High Court judge Justice V K Jadhav (Retd) on September 9, 2022, to probe land-grabbing cases. The Indian Express had earlier reported the findings of the report of the Commission of Inquiry. The Inquiry report detailed how government records had been tampered with in a 'systematic and organised' manner and forged sale deeds with Portuguese-era calligraphy were inserted into the records, allegedly 'in connivance with the staff of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology'.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Time of India
Goa property fraud: Many buyers from NCR
Representative image PANAJI: A day after the enforcement directorate (ED) seized property documents worth Rs 600 crore from the offices and residence of 'key mastermind' Rohan Harmalkar , it seized his house. The directorate said that Harmalkar - who contested the 2022 assembly election as an independent - would identify properties that were unattended for many years, and that his clients were mostly from Delhi-NCR and Haryana. Most of the properties Harmalkar identified either had no legal heir, or the owner was deceased or lived abroad without returning to Goa for decades. Once Harmalkar had identified these properties, he along with other accused engaged in impersonation, creation of fake documents, and tampering with revenue records to sell those properties, the central agency said. Harmalkar acted on behalf of some land purchasers so that people from outside Goa could acquire these properties below market price. In some cases, the accused cheated the customers. "Harmalkar had multiple customers outside the state, including from Delhi-NCR and Haryana, among other places," the agency said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo On Friday, when the ED searched his office and residences in connection with an alleged land scam , it seized documents of immovable properties worth over Rs 600 crore. The operation also uncovered incriminating property documents worth over Rs 1,000 crore in prime tourist hotspots of North Goa. These included forged title deeds, indicating manipulation of land records and fraudulent transfers of high-value land parcels spanning several lakhs of square meters in places like Anjuna, Arpora, and Assagao in Bardez taluka, the agency said.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Harmalkar's eye was on ‘unattended' properties for Delhi-NCR buyers: ED
Panaji: A day after the enforcement directorate (ED) seized property documents worth Rs 600 crore from the offices and residence of Rohan Harmalkar , it seized his house. The directorate said that Harmalkar — who contested the 2022 assembly election as an independent — would identify properties that were unattended for many years, and that his clients were mostly from Delhi-NCR and Haryana. Most of the properties Harmalkar identified either had no legal heir, or the owner was deceased or lived abroad without returning to Goa for decades. Once Harmalkar had identified these properties, he along with other accused persons engaged in impersonation, creation of fake documents, and tampering with revenue records to sell those properties, the ED said. Harmalkar acted on behalf of some land purchasers so that people from outside Goa could acquire these properties below market price. In some cases, Harmalkar cheated the customers. 'Harmalkar had multiple customers outside the state, including from Delhi-NCR and Haryana, among other places,' it said. On Friday, the ED searched his office and residences in connection with an alleged land scam . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo It seized documents of immovable properties worth over Rs 600 crore. The operation also uncovered incriminating property documents worth Rs 1,000 crore in prime tourist hotspots of North Goa. The searches revealed incriminating property documents, the current market value of which exceeds Rs 1,000 crore. These included forged title deeds, indicating manipulation of land records and fraudulent transfers of high-value land parcels spanning several lakhs of square meters in places like Anjuna, Arpora, and Assagao in Bardez taluka, the ED said. The ED earlier registered a case against Harmalkar, who contested the 2022 election from the Cumbharjua constituency, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act , 2002 (PMLA). The ED stated that the searches on Friday were conducted based on intelligence and subsequent financial investigation, which revealed that Harmalkar is a key mastermind. He, along with other associates, engaged in a large-scale conspiracy to illegally appropriate land belonging to rightful owners through fraudulent means, including impersonation, creation of fake documents, and tampering with revenue records, the directorate said. Goa police have also registered an FIR against Harmalkar in connection with an alleged land grab case in Anjuna.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
ED raids multiple locations in Goa over Rs 1,000 crore land scam
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at multiple locations in Goa in connection with a land scam of Rs 1,000 crore allegedly involving fraudulent transfers of high-value land parcels in prime tourist hotspots, a senior official has said. The official said the searches were conducted on Thursday and Friday based on intelligence and subsequent financial investigation, which revealed that Rohan Harmalkar is a key mastermind. Harmalkar and other associates resorted to a large conspiracy to illegally appropriate land belonging to rightful owners through "fraudulent means including impersonation, creation of fake documents, tampering with revenue records, etc, as per an ED statement issued on Friday evening. Harmalkar had contested the 2022 Goa legislative assembly election as an Independent candidate from the Cumbharjua constituency. According to ED, these properties, originally owned by individuals and family estates, were unlawfully sold without their consent, causing serious financial and legal distress to such victims. The operations were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act , 2002 (PMLA). The searches uncovered incriminating property documents, the current market value of which exceeds Rs 1,000 crores, including 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 like Anjuna, Arpora, and Asagoan in Bardez Taluka, the anti-money laundering agency said. The ED seized original documents of immovable properties worth more than Rs 600 crore during the search action. The search revealed that the proceeds of crime were further laundered through various individuals and benami entities and finally invested in real estate, luxury vehicles, and other high-value assets. Further investigation is ongoing to trace the money trail, identify other beneficiaries, and the roles of others, including government officials, connected with the process of illegal property transactions, the ED added.
