The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said the entity that operated Birch by Romeo Lane, the nightclub in Goa where 25 people were killed in a fire on December 6, generated Rs 22 crore in revenue in the last two fiscal years and that this revenue is suspected to constitute proceeds of crime.
The Directorate of Enforcement, Panaji Zonal Office, earlier this week conducted searches at nine premises in Goa, Delhi and Gurgaon. The premises searched in Goa include those of the then-sarpanch of village panchayat Arpora-Nagoa, Roshan Redkar, and then-panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, who are alleged to have facilitated and issued trade licences and NOCs to the club to operate.
The ED said the searches form part of an investigation into alleged money-laundering activities linked to Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta, the owners and partners of Birch by Romeo Lane.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Goa Police, which contain certain scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Goa Police had booked the Luthra brothers and the club’s partners, manager, event organiser and other managing staff and charged the accused with culpable homicide.
The Luthra brothers, who ran the club, had taken a flight from Delhi to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, just hours after the incident, which took place just before midnight the previous day. The duo booked the tickets at 1.17 am on December 7 to flee the country, within 90 minutes of the blaze. They were later deported to India and arrested by the Goa Police. They are currently in judicial custody.
In a statement, the ED said the searches have revealed “serious irregularities in statutory compliance, including the procurement of licences on the basis of forged documents and the continued operation of commercial activities despite the absence of mandatory approvals from competent authorities.”
“During the course of search operations, it was revealed that the entity operating Birch by Romeo Lane generated revenue amounting to Rs 22 crore (approximately) during the financial year 2023-24 and financial year 2024-25. This revenue, prima facie, [is] suspected to constitute proceeds of crime, as the club was functioning without the necessary statutory licences and on the basis of forged No Objection Certificates/licences from various departments. Evidence relating to foreign remittances routed through group entities was also unearthed during the searches, and possible contraventions of relevant laws are being examined,” the ED said.
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“Further investigation revealed that funds amounting to crores of rupees, generated from the illegal operation of the establishment, were diverted to personal bank accounts of individuals as well as to accounts of other group entities. Various incriminating documents and digital devices relevant to the investigation were recovered and seized during the searches. In addition, bank accounts of persons and entities suspected to be involved in holding proceeds of crime have been frozen under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. The investigation is also focused on examining any possible corruption angle and subsequent laundering of proceeds of crime by other persons involved,” the statement added.
A magisterial inquiry, set up earlier this month to probe the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane, found that the local panchayat allegedly colluded with the owners of the property, allowing the club to be run illegally without a valid trade licence. The panchayat “failed in its statutory duty” and took no action to seal the property or shut its operations, according to the findings of the inquiry.
