Russian mafia usurps Goa land

Goa: Land sharks in Goa, including the Russian land mafia, have been forcibly evacuating small landholders and farmers from their land and usurping prime lands through fraudulent land deals.

Goa Chief minister Pratapsingh Rane has gone on record telling the state Assembly that foreign companies have indeed been buying land across Goa through fraudulent means and that the RBI and the Enforcement Directorate were investigating as many as 482 properties illegally purchased by foreigners in the state.

"Many of these deals violate the Foreign Exchange Management Act," Rane had stated. "And nearly 12-lakh-square metres of agricultural and prime coastal land in Goa is now in the illegal possession of foreigners on tourist visas," he said.

But not many in his government and even within his family share his view. Now, the Goa Government is, in fact, withholding information on the activities of Russian land mafia in the state.

For instance, Rane's politician son Vishwajeet Rane — whose wife owns three real estate companies — doesn't agree with Rane claims.

"There is no land mafia is Goa. International money flow into Goa is well streamlined and there are strict regulations. FDI is not allowed into agriculture land," Vishwajeet Rane, who is an Independent candidate for Valpoi constituency in the Assembly elections, claims.

Rane's Deputy Chief Minister, too, denies the presence of land mafia in the state. "I don't think there is a single Russian company registered with the tourism department or the Government of Goa, which is entirely Russian owned," Goa Deputy CM Wilfred D'Souza says.

But CNN-IBN's independent investigation has revealed that wholly Russian-owned companies have fraudulently bought prime land plots in the state. Sale deeds of land bought by two companies, owned by Russian businessman Leonid Beyzer, in the village of Morjim in North Goa alone are worth almost Rs 3 crores.

"I want to make some small businesses here where my friends can come. I am planning to set up some hotel with yoga and meditation centres. Goa is the best place for this," Leonid Beyzer, Russian businessman, states.

Yet Beyzer's companies, Artlibori Resorts and True Axiz Resorts, are not on the list of the properties that the RBI has shortlisted for investigation. Beyzer's Russian business partner, who runs her own shell companies, made this admission.

"We are developing for Russians. They are coming and investing money here. We are making property for ourselves and not for others," Yulia Yaskova, a Russian Citizen, says.

Yulia admits to taking over a plot of land on which Dilip Morje was a tenant farmer. CNN-IBN has documents in its possession to prove this claim.

Yulia herself even admits that the plot was converted to settlement land illegally. "All conversions were done. But even if it’s settlement land, then you can have Mundkar problems," Yulia Yaskova accepts.

"Jo landlord tha, woh uss-se milke mera sign maarke zameen le liya (they met the landlord, faked my signature and took possession of the land)," Dilip Morje, a resident of Morjim Village, claims.

Morje's is not a one-off story. There are many like him, who have lost their lands to land sharks, who are believed to be enjoying patronage of top politicians in the state.

This is a problem with wide-ranging social, political and economic dimensions for the state and the new Goa government that takes charge of Vidhan Sabha in a fortnight’s time will have a task cut out to tackle this problem.

(With inputs from Rohit Khanna and Pramod Acharya)

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