Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, has conducted search operations at 08
premises in Goa and Pune on 04.07.2025 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act, 2002 (PMLA). The searches were part of a PMLA investigation against John Paul Valles,
Sandeep Vazarkar, and their associates in a case of illegal land grabbing.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Porvorim Police Station, North Goa.
The case pertains to a criminal conspiracy to illegally grab an ancestral landed property admeasuring
5,000 sq. meters at Survey No. 210/5 in Socorro, North Goa, belonging to the complainant, Mr.
Jeronimo Oliveiro Desouza.
The investigation pertains to modus operandi where the accused allegedly conspired to create
a fraudulent inventory proceeding (No. 134/2019/C). This document falsely claimed that the father of
Mrs. Sandra De Sa and Mrs. Maureen Saldanha had the same name as the complainant’s father,
thereby enabling the fraudulent transfer of the property into the names of the two sisters.
Subsequently, Mr. John Paul Valles obtained a Power of Attorney (POA) from them in Pune and
proceeded to subdivide the land into plots and sell them to multiple buyers. Sandeep Vazarkar
accompanied John Paul Valles to Pune for the execution of the POA and was instrumental in
arranging buyers for the plots.
During the PMLA investigation, Sandeep Vazarkar admitted to receiving ₹10 Lakh as
brokerage. The investigation also found large, unexplained cash deposits in the personal and
business bank accounts of Sandeep Vazarkar.
The search operations, conducted at the residential and office premises of those involved, have
resulted in the seizure of multiple electronic devices and a significant volume of incriminating
documents pertaining to immovable properties and records of cash entries. Key seizures include
various Deeds of Sale, Power of Attorneys, documents related to multiple inventory proceedings, and
a diary containing details of cash payments. These items were primarily seized from the residences of
Sandeep Arjun Vazarkar, John Paul Valles, Sandeep Manjrekar and Avinash Naik.
The seized evidence is being scrutinized and is expected to provide crucial leads for tracing the
proceeds of crime and furthering the ongoing investigation into the land grabbing conspiracy.
