ED Attaches Rs 1,023 Crore Assets In Goa Illegal Mining Case Linked To Salgaocar Group

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 1,023.85 crore in an alleged illegal iron ore mining and money laundering case linked to the Salgaocar Group (AVS Group) in Goa, intensifying a long running probe into the state’s mining sector.

The attachment, issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on June 19, includes 99 immovable properties in India worth Rs 459.10 crore , 31 properties in Singapore worth Rs 471.32 crore , and equity shares worth Rs 93.42 crore held in Indian companies linked to the estate of late industrialist Anil Salgaocar and associated entities.

According to the ED, the probe stems from a Goa Police CID FIR and findings reinforced by Supreme Court rulings in 2014 and 2018 , which held that mining operations in Goa after November 2007 were illegal until fresh leases were granted.

Investigators allege that between 2007 and 2012, the group operated ten mining leases , generating Rs 2,492.95 crore in proceeds of crime through extraction, sale, and export of iron ore.

The ED further said the ore was exported at undervalued prices through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) , which functioned as paper intermediaries before reselling the material to China, creating additional offshore profits of Rs 2,744.89 crore . Overall, the agency estimates total proceeds of crime at Rs 5,237.84 crore .

The funds were allegedly layered through BVI and Singapore-based SPVs , later used to acquire global assets and reintroduced into India as share capital.

Earlier ED probes, including those triggered by Panama and Pandora Papers disclosures , had also flagged foreign exchange violations and offshore holdings linked to the Salgaocar network, forming the broader backdrop of the current action.

The case is now in the post-attachment adjudication stage under PMLA, where further prosecution steps are expected.