New Delhi. In a major action in the famous illegal iron ore mining case of Goa, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 1,023.85 crore of Salgaonkar Group and its associated companies. According to ED, this action has been taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The attached assets include 99 immovable properties located in India, valued at Rs 459.10 crore. Apart from this, 31 immovable properties located in Singapore, worth Rs 471.32 crore, have also been seized. The agency has also attached equity shares worth Rs 93.42 crore in Indian companies.
The ED said the investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Goa CID Crime Branch. The investigation revealed that AVS Group illegally mined, sold and exported iron ore while operating 10 mining leases between 2007 and 2012. From this the group made illegal earnings of about Rs 2,492.95 crore.
According to the agency, the illegally extracted ore was exported at low prices through shell companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and later sold at higher prices to China. An additional profit of Rs 2,744.89 crore was earned from this. The investigation has estimated the total proceeds of crime to be around Rs 5,237.84 crore.
The ED alleges that an attempt was made to buy properties abroad by diverting this money through foreign companies and special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and later bringing it to India as investment. Investigation of the matter is ongoing.
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