ED raids Delhi, Gurugram, Goa locations in money-laundering probe linked to Goa club fire

THe Enforcement board of directors on fri carried come out searches at multiple locations in new delhi, Gurugram and Goa as component part of a money-laundering probe linked to the illegal functioning of a north Goa nightclub, whose premises were gutted in a fire last month that killed 25 people, officials said.Search operations began early morning at the residential and office premises of the Luthra brothers and Ajay Gupta, promoters of Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora. The agency is probing whether proceeds generated through alleged regulatory violations, illegal licences and unauthorised land use were laundered, officials familiar with the matter said.The ED teams conducted searches at eight to nine locations across Delhi and Goa, including properties in Outram Lanes in Kingsway Camp and Tatvam Villas in Gurugram. In Goa, the agency also searched the premises of the then sarpanch, Roshan Redkar, and panchayat secretary, Raghuvir Bagkar, who are alleged to have facilitated and issued illegal trade licences and no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the club.The searches follow the 6 December 2025 fire at the Arpora club, which triggered widespread outrage and multiple investigations into alleged safety lapses and regulatory failures. While the Goa police are probing the cause of the blaze and criminal liability for the deaths, the ED’s case focuses on possible offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) arising from the manner in which the establishment was licensed and operated.“We are examining whether bribes were paid to secure illegal permissions and whether revenues from the allegedly unlawful operations were routed through shell entities or used to acquire assets. Financial records, digital devices and documents seized during the searches are being analysed to trace money trails linked to the promoters and public officials,” said an ED official, asking not to be named.He further said that the agency is also probing the role of Surinder Kumar Khosla in connection with the alleged illegal conversion of khazan land — protected salt pan land — on which the club stood.“Teams searched Khosla’s premises to examine whether proceeds from the unauthorised land conversion were laundered or parked through benami transactions,” he added.Khazan lands in Goa are protected under state laws and coastal regulations, and their conversion for commercial use without mandatory clearances is prohibited. The agency is assessing whether the land-use violations were part of a larger conspiracy involving forged records, abuse of official position and generation of illicit proceeds.Officials said the ED action is based on predicate offences registered by other agencies under laws dealing with cheating, corruption, forgery and environmental violations. Further steps, including provisional attachment of assets, will depend on evidence collected during the searches.