PANAJI — The wheels of justice appear to have started moving with the Enforcement Department directing the state government to freeze the sale and or transfer of properties bought by the foreigners in violation of the Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act, 1999.

The ED has directed the North Goa collectorate to freeze the four properties bought by M/s True Axiz Resorts Pvt Ltd as these were found to have been purchased in violation of the FEMA and were liable for confiscation under Section 13(2) of the FEMA.

All the four properties are situated in Morjim village and bear survey numbers 22/3(b), 22/4, 18/3 and 119/3. The area of each property is 2,725 sq mt, 565 sq mt, 435 sq mt and 19,906 sq mt respectively.

The ED has directed the state government to maintain status quo with regards to the properties purchased by M/s True Axiz and not allow their transfer or sale without its permission.

The state machinery had recently prevented the owners of the properties viz Mr Leonid Beyzer, Mr Pramod Walke, Mr Valuilin Rasheed and Ms Ana Livinova from constructing boundary wall along the properties in question.

The ED had passed one more order against the owners of a property in Bardez taluka recently but the owners had sold the property to some others before the order could reach the state. The state authorities, however, expressed confidence that the property in question could also be frozen as it was purchased in violation of the FEMA.

The government authorities have been investigating Mr Beyzer, a Russian national, for land deals in violation of the FEMA in the state and his involvement in other illegalities. They have also written to the Union government to ban his entry in the country.

The Russian is also under the scanner of the Goa police as he is reported to have been convicted in a drug trafficking case in 1989 in erstwhile Russia.

He managed to buy properties in Morjim village of Pernem taluka within one month of his entry into the state and registering a company.

He managed to register two companies while on a tourist visa to the state in 2005, bought the land measuring 27,288 sq metres. He has registered two companies Artlibori Resorts Private Ltd and True Axis. The Russian is being investigated for the modus operandi in the land deals and whether he used fraudulent means to register the companies.

The biggest property measuring 19,906 square metres was registered by him on April 18, 2005, and was bought at a cost of over Rs 1.29 crore. The sale deed of first purchase of land was registered on March 22, within a week, after his companies were registered.