Hundreds of British nationals who bought properties in Goa but face a prolonged legal battle to hold on to them were at the centre of a debate in the British Parliament.
The debate held in Westminster Hall of the House of Commons on Tuesday was called by Conservative MP Tim Loughton, who highlighted the "huge stress" being caused to British expatriates who had acquired properties in the beach state in good faith only to be faced with an enforcement directorate investigation.
"The problem seems to be quite widespread, with a number of British expats suffering such consequences. It has been suggested that there are in excess of 300 similar cases that we know about," Loughton said during the debate.
"Huge stress is being caused to people who legitimately went out to invest in businesses in Goa," he said.
"In most cases, they are not wealthy, but have invested their life savings. The situation is proving to be a nice little earner for the government in Goa, and various government officials are pretty brazen in demanding money to make the problem, which is of their making, supposedly go away. We seem to have the Goan equivalent of the mafia," he added.
In the past few months, he has written the then Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar.
He has also complained to the Indian High Commission in London, which responded: "You will appreciate that the High Commission cannot intervene in administrative judicial proceedings in India. If your constituent's parents are aggrieved by Directorate of Enforcement actions, they may seek appropriate legal redressal of their grievances."
The UK's parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs Tobias Ellwood responded to his concerns on behalf of the UK government.
"We are aware of corruption allegations against local authorities in Goa. However, the matter must be dealt with by the Indian authorities. We have always advised British nationals to report corruption complaints to the Indian law enforcement system," he said.
