Are Lawmakers Justified In Amending Section 45 Of Prevention Of Money Laundering Act, 2002?

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act is synonymous with white collar crimes. Money laundering poses a threat not only to the financial system of the nation, but also to its integrity and sovereignty. To curb this menace, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was enacted. The Act envisioned tackling the transgression of money laundering by punishing offenders and attaching properties involved in offences of money laundering. The Money Laundering Bill was introduced in the...

SC Allows ED to Attach Assets Of JP Morgan And Its Directors To The Extent Of Amounts Allegedly Diverted From Amrapali Homebuyers [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Enforcement Directorate (ED) to attach properties of US-based JP Morgan and its directors to the extent of the amounts allegedly diverted by the now-defunct Amrapali group from homebuyers in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and FDI norms.Based on the submission made by the ED that it has prima facie identified Rs 187 Crores in the accounts of JP Morgan as proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the SC...

Decide Whether 'Not Releasing Prisoners/Undertrials Accused Under Special Enactments Is Discriminatory': Bombay HC Asks High Power Committee [Read Order]

The Bombay High Court has directed the high power committee constituted by the state government to decide whether the distinction made between prisoners/undertrials accused under IPC and those under special enactments like MPID, MCOCA, NDPS, PMLA, UAPA etc for release on parole due to the pandemic of Covid-19, is discriminatory. Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing a suo motu writ petition which was converted into a petition after Advocate SB Talekar wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Bombay...

Supreme Court Upholds Summoning Of Accused Through Non-Bailable Warrants in PMLA cases

As per the latest Annual Report for financial year 2018-19 released by the Reserve Bank of India, the amount involved in the banking fraud cases has gone up by whooping 73.8 percent involving a total of Rs 71,542.93 crores, which sufficiently explains the imminent need for stringent enforcement of money laundering laws in India. Considering the deep rooted conspiracies involved in commission of such economic offences, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has taken a stricter and stringent...

Delhi HC Refuses To Accept Bail Plea Moved By Fortis Promoter Shivinder Singh Citing COVID-19 [Read Order]

Delhi High Court has refused to grant interim bail to Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh, who had cited the possibility of catching COVID19 in prison as a reason to seek relief. While denying the relief, the Single Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta noted that Shivinder Singh is allegedly involved in offence punishable with more than 7 years of sentence and in more than one case and that too under PMLA and hence does not qualify to be released pursuant to directions of the High...

Property Acquired Prior To Commission Of Criminal Activity Cannot Be Attached Under PMLA: Punjab & Haryana HC [Read Judgment]

In a case regarding the attachment of property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the High Court of Punjab & Haryana held that property acquired prior to the commission of criminal activity or the introduction of PMLA cannot be attached unless property obtained or acquired from scheduled offence is held or taken outside the country. The division bench of Justice Jaswant Singh and Justice Sant Prakash said if a property so is attached, " The Director...

Decoding The Enquiries Under Prevention Of Money Laundering Act, Customs Act Vis-A-Vis The Personal Liberty: (PART 1)

India is one amongst the country who is apart from transforming its own economy, is proving its mettle at the world's stage. The spine of an economy certainly depends upon its tax, revenue regimes, and allied economic policies. For a country to grow, it is equally responsible for its law enforcement agencies how do they deal with the alleged tax and duty violators. Many cases allege harrying, pertaining to the enquiries made by the Directorate General, be it under Prevention of Money...

SC Paves Way For Release Of P Chidambaram After 105 Days In Jail As He Gets Bail In INX Media [ED] Case [Updated With Judgment]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Union Minister and Senior Advocate P Chidambaram in the case registered by Enforcement Directorate in INX Media scam.He has spent 105 days in custody since his arrest by CBI on August 21.The SC bench of Justices R Banumathi, A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roya observed that Chidambaram satisfied the triple tests for granting bail, and criticized the Delhi High Court for making observations on the merits of the allegations. Justice A S...

Delhi HC Allows ED's Application Seeking Factual Corrections in Chidambaram's Bail Order; Issues Clarifications

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed the application filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) to correct "inadvertent factual errors" and "accidental slips" in the order denying bail to P Chidambaram in the INX Media case and issued clarifications.Appearing on behalf of ED, Advocate Amit Mahajan requested that the Court to clarify that observations made in paragraphs 35, 36, 39 and 40 were not taken from the submissions made by the agency. Mr Mahajan also argued that these clerical errors...

SC Dismisses ED Appeal Against Delhi HC Order Granting Bail To D K Shivakumar

In a relief to Congress leader D K Shivakumar, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by Enforcement Directorate against the Delhi High Court's order granting bail to him in an alleged money laundering case.The bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Ravindra Bhat turned down Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's pleas to admit the petition.The Court noted that the ED had 'copy-pasted' from their petition against P Chidambaram. "The petition seems to be cut, copy and paste...

INX Media : P Chidambaram Remanded To Judicial Custody In ED Case Till Nov 13

The Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar on Wednesday sent former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram to judicial custody till November 13 in ED matter against him in INX Media case.During the proceedings, both the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that they don't wish to reiterate the arguments they made in the last hearing. SG also placed Chidambaram's recent medical report before the Special Judge. Chidambaram was recently admitted to AIIMS as he had...

D K Shivakumar's Wife And Mother Tell Delhi HC That They Are Yet To Receive Fresh ED Summons

Usha Shivakumar and Gowarma, the wife and mother of Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar, on Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that they have not received the fresh summons which were purported to be issued by the ED.The Petitioners also argued before Justice Brijesh Sethi that the amended petition cannot be filed without receiving the fresh summons. Usha Shivakumar and Gowarma had moved the Delhi High Court to challenge the summons issued to them by ED for Interrogation in a money...