NEW DELHI: With the role of Enforcement Directorate (ED) muscling its way onto electoral centrestage, the agency has come forward with comparative details of its investigations during UPA and NDA spells, showing it has been into overdrive during the 10 years of Modi govt.
Data shared by the agency showed that the number of arrests in the last decade went up 2,500% over the preceding nine-year period and 63 people were convicted compared with none earlier.
Although Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the law from which the ED gets its teeth, was enacted in 2002, the relevant rules were framed only in 2005, hence all money laundering probes were initiated after that, a year after UPA came to office in 2004.
During UPA years, ED registered 1,797 investigations under PMLA, the stringent law that lays the burden of proof on the accused. In comparison, in the 10 years of NDA govt led by PM Modi, the agency initiated 5,155 money laundering probes.
While 102 chargesheets (prosecution complaints) were filed during the UPA period, the NDA decade saw a huge surge with 1,281 chargesheets filed. The percentage of chargesheets filed against total cases was less than 6% during the UPA era, compared to almost 25% under NDA.
Chargesheets are filed when the agency completes investigation in a case, and prima facie establishes the charge of money laundering, telling the court that it may frame charges against an accused and begin trial.
Although the agency remained stiff-lipped about the provocation for its forthrightness at this juncture, the details fit in well with the NDA govt’s argument that ED had a busy decade because of the campaign against corruption. Although opposition and activists have accused ED of targeting political opponents, it has pointed out, as has govt, that only 3% of cases being investigated concern politicians.
Not a single Prevention of Money Laundering Act case during the UPA regime resulted in conviction while convictions were secured in 36 cases during 2014-24 in which 63 people were convicted. However, the convictions achieved in the last 10 years could be in cases initiated during UPA’s term as the slow-paced justice delivery system often delays trials in cases.
Besides delay in trial proceedings due to repeated adjournments in courts, completing investigation in a money laundering case is a challenging task given that economic offenders are often rich and influential people who engage the agencies in multiple court cases to stall probes and delay outcomes.
At one time, ED faced at least 250 petitions challenging all its powers under PMLA – from registering a probe to summoning an accused and its arrest powers. These cases traversed through high courts to the Supreme Court, taking several years to finally arrive at a judgment when the apex court validated all the powers of the agency under PMLA. However, some high profile politicians have again moved court stalling trials in money laundering cases, again challenging powers of the agency under PMLA.
Coming back to ED’s performance, searches went up from 84 in 2005-14 to 7,300 in 2014-24 and the value of assets attached went up from Rs 5,086 crore to Rs 1.2 lakh crore. The number of people arrested rose from 29 to 755.
While there were no confiscations of assets during UPA’s term, ED confiscated assets worth Rs 15,710 crore in the last decade. So far, ED has returned more than Rs 16,000 crore to banks and other victims after disposal of assets, all in the last few years.
Data shared by the agency showed that the number of arrests in the last decade went up 2,500% over the preceding nine-year period and 63 people were convicted compared with none earlier.
Although Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the law from which the ED gets its teeth, was enacted in 2002, the relevant rules were framed only in 2005, hence all money laundering probes were initiated after that, a year after UPA came to office in 2004.
During UPA years, ED registered 1,797 investigations under PMLA, the stringent law that lays the burden of proof on the accused. In comparison, in the 10 years of NDA govt led by PM Modi, the agency initiated 5,155 money laundering probes.
While 102 chargesheets (prosecution complaints) were filed during the UPA period, the NDA decade saw a huge surge with 1,281 chargesheets filed. The percentage of chargesheets filed against total cases was less than 6% during the UPA era, compared to almost 25% under NDA.
Chargesheets are filed when the agency completes investigation in a case, and prima facie establishes the charge of money laundering, telling the court that it may frame charges against an accused and begin trial.
Although the agency remained stiff-lipped about the provocation for its forthrightness at this juncture, the details fit in well with the NDA govt’s argument that ED had a busy decade because of the campaign against corruption. Although opposition and activists have accused ED of targeting political opponents, it has pointed out, as has govt, that only 3% of cases being investigated concern politicians.
Not a single Prevention of Money Laundering Act case during the UPA regime resulted in conviction while convictions were secured in 36 cases during 2014-24 in which 63 people were convicted. However, the convictions achieved in the last 10 years could be in cases initiated during UPA’s term as the slow-paced justice delivery system often delays trials in cases.
Besides delay in trial proceedings due to repeated adjournments in courts, completing investigation in a money laundering case is a challenging task given that economic offenders are often rich and influential people who engage the agencies in multiple court cases to stall probes and delay outcomes.
At one time, ED faced at least 250 petitions challenging all its powers under PMLA – from registering a probe to summoning an accused and its arrest powers. These cases traversed through high courts to the Supreme Court, taking several years to finally arrive at a judgment when the apex court validated all the powers of the agency under PMLA. However, some high profile politicians have again moved court stalling trials in money laundering cases, again challenging powers of the agency under PMLA.
Coming back to ED’s performance, searches went up from 84 in 2005-14 to 7,300 in 2014-24 and the value of assets attached went up from Rs 5,086 crore to Rs 1.2 lakh crore. The number of people arrested rose from 29 to 755.
While there were no confiscations of assets during UPA’s term, ED confiscated assets worth Rs 15,710 crore in the last decade. So far, ED has returned more than Rs 16,000 crore to banks and other victims after disposal of assets, all in the last few years.