New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has executed a major crackdown in the ongoing probe into illicit mining operations in Goa. Under the statutory provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the central agency has provisionally attached immovable and movable assets valued at roughly ₹1,023 crore belonging to the Salgaocar Group.
According to official disclosures by the ED, the seized holdings are legally registered under the Estate of the Late Anil Vasudev Salgaocar, alongside an array of interconnected corporate entities. These include:
- Salgaocar Mining Industries Pvt. Ltd.
- Shantilal Khushaldas & Brothers Pvt. Ltd.
- S. Kantilal & Company Pvt. Ltd.
- Salitho Ores Pvt. Ltd.
- Vertex Newton Projects Pvt. Ltd.
- Subarnarekha Port Pvt. Ltd.
Legal Background and Judicial Precedent
The money laundering investigation was originally set in motion following a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Goa CID Crime Branch. In building its case, the anti-money laundering agency highlighted landmark rulings delivered by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 and 2018. The apex court had explicitly decreed that any and all iron ore extraction activities conducted across Goa after November 22, 2007, lacked legal validity and were classified as entirely unauthorized.
ED attaches assets worth approximately Rs 1,023 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the #Goa illegal iron ore #mining case. pic.twitter.com/zyVIPwFz6F
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 22, 2026
Massive Illegal Revenues and Offshore Under-Invoicing
The financial scale of the alleged irregularities is vast. The ED has calculated the total illicit wealth, or “proceeds of crime,” generated through these operations to be approximately ₹5,237.84 crore.
Agency sleuths revealed that the corporate conglomerate engaged in the unauthorized extraction of iron ore across 10 distinct mining leases between 2007 and 2012. This domestic operation alone yielded an estimated ₹2,492.95 crore in illicit revenue.
Furthermore, the ED alleged that the group engineered an intricate under-invoicing mechanism to funnel additional profits abroad. By offloading iron ore to international shell companies at artificially depressed valuations, the entities allegedly pocketed an additional ₹2,744 crore in unlawful financial gains. The federal agency confirmed that comprehensive investigations into the financial network are actively continuing.