On Sunday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that organizations of a Goa-based nightclub in which a fatal fire last year killed 25 people earned about 22 crores between the last two financial years- the income which the agency believes was earned on the basis of the proceeds of crime in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED reckons that the revenue generated is an illegal business because the nightclub was allegedly operating without the requisite statutory licences. On January 23, the central probe agency led a coordinated raid in Goa, Delhi and Haryana on the nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane and its promoters, including two brothers Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra.
It was a massive fire that gutted the nightclub in the village of Arpora in North Goa and was in the process of hosting a dance party on December 6, 2025. The accident was a cause of the deaths of 25 individuals and almost 50 others were injured, which caused outrage and demands of responsibility nationwide.
The ED indicated in an official statement that its searches revealed some serious irregularities in the statutory compliance in which the alleged procurement of licences with forged documents was made. The agency also asserted that the club was conducting commercial business even without the approvals of the relevant authorities.
The investigators discovered that the entity has generated around 22 crores in the 202324 and 2425 financial years. The ED charged that such revenue is subject to classification as proceeds of crime since it was earned in illegal business supported by counterfeit No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and licences.
The agency also asserted that crores of rupees of the nightclub earnings were embezzled to their personal bank accounts of people and shifted their accounts to those of other group entities. There is still more research underway in financing tracks and responsibility.
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