ED Report: Assets worth 1.55 lakh crore attached in 20 years, 100 PMLA courts still delaying cases
New Delhi| According to the latest report of the Enforcement Directorate, the seizure of assets worth more than Rs 50,000 crore is stuck due to litigation and stay order. These properties were provisionally attached by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The investigating agency has the power under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to temporarily attach properties which are suspected to be proceeds of crime during investigation. Such provisional order must be confirmed on behalf of the Tribunal of the said Law within 180 days of its issuance. According to the report ED has acquired assets worth Rs 1.55 lakh crore since PMLA became effective from 2005 to 2025, of which assets worth Rs 1.07 crore have been confirmed by the tribunal by the end of the financial year 2024-25, But due to legal hurdles, the seizure of more than Rs 50 thousand crores is still stuck.
100 PMLA courts yet delays in cases
The ED has said in its report that despite there being 100 special PMLA courts across the country, the hearing of money laundering cases is not completed on time. There are systemic and procedural obstacles in this. Many courts are burdened with cases under other laws. Often, trials are disrupted due to interim applications, writ petitions and bail cases being filed, the report said. Some of these cases reach the High Court and Supreme Court, affecting the continuity and speedy disposal of cases under PMLA.
ED’s conviction rate of 93 percent
Meanwhile, at an event organized on ‘ED Day’ last Thursday, Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Rahul Naveen said that the agency’s conviction rate is 93.6 percent. Because out of the 47 cases decided by the courts so far, only three cases have resulted in the acquittal of the accused. The agency chief said he clearly admits that many of the investigations initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were pending for a very long time, but this year our focus is on completing the investigation and expeditiously filing the last charge sheet. Is on efforts.
