Foreign Remittances Alone Can't Establish Gross Turnover As 'Proceeds Of Crime': Bombay High Court

On September 2, the Bombay High Court held gross business turnover or foreign remittances cannot, by themselves, establish that an entire turnover or all bank balances of a company constitute “proceeds of crime” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata quashed and set aside the 6 March 2025 order of the PMLA Appellate Tribunal which had upheld the 15 March 2023 order of the Adjudicating Authority continuing the freezing of...

Delhi High Court Holds ECIR Ends With Predicate Offence Closure, Quashes ED Case Against Prasad Family

The Delhi High Court on 19 August quashed proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against members of the family of late Aristo Group founder Dr. Mahendra Prasad and others, after finding that the predicate offence forming the basis of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) had been closed. Justice Anish Dayal also set aside the ED's August 2025 addendum adding an earlier FIR to the existing ECIR. He observed: “The ED...

Calcutta High Court Denies Bail To Accused In Multi-Crore Online Betting PMLA Case

The Calcutta High Court on Monday denied bail to one of the accused persons in a Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) case arising from an alleged illegal online betting and gambling racket.The allegations pertain to illegal betting and gambling with proceeds allegedly laundered through multiple mule bank accounts and hawala transactions including transfers abroad. The ED alleged that the accused Sonu Kumar Thakur provided mule accounts to betting panels, operated through sub agents and...

Vijay Mallya Claims ₹15,000 Crore Recovered Against ₹6,203 Crore Dues: Bombay High Court Asks SBI, ED To Respond

Fugitive businessman Vijay Vittal Mallya has told the Bombay High Court that his civil liabilities to a consortium of banks have effectively been settled, with the lenders having recovered approximately ₹15,000 crore against an original claim of about ₹6,203 crore, including interest.The submission was made by Senior Advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mallya, in a plea challenging a Special PMLA Court order that allowed the lender consortium to utilise confiscated assets for recovery of debts...

Madras High Court Refuses To Transfer Ex-Minister Radhakrishnan Case To PMLA Court, Calls Plea Premature

On 4 August, the Madras High Court dismissed the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) petition seeking transfer of the disproportionate assets case against former Tamil Nadu Minister and MLA Anitha R. Radhakrishnan from the Principal Sessions Court, Thoothukudi, to the Special PMLA Court at Madurai, holding that the application was premature. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan held that a scheduled offence case can be committed to a...

Describing ECIR An Administrative Document Cannot Shield It From Judicial Review: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday ruled that merely describing an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) as an internal or administrative document does not place it beyond judicial scrutiny. It held that an administrative label cannot shield it from review where its continuance causes injustice or frustrates the efficacy of an order passed under the Code of Criminal Procedure."Therefore, the description of an ECIR as an internal or administrative document does not, by itself, erect an...

Gameskraft Case | Search And Seizure Under PMLA Is Not An Independent Civil Exercise, Consequence Of ECIR: Karnataka High Court

Observing this, the court rejected the Enforcement Directorate's preliminary objection and held that Gameskraft's writ petition challenging the ECIR and consequential freezing orders is maintainable.

Bombay High Court Quashes PMLA Case Against DB Realty, MD In Case Linked To Ex-Minister Chhagan Bhujbal

The Bombay High Court has quashed money laundering proceedings against DB Realty Managing Director Vinod Goenka and the company in a case linked to former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. It held that the prosecution could not continue after Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd, from whom the petitioners were alleged to have received the proceeds of crime, was discharged.Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe said, "Considering that the Accused No. 4 (M/s. Parvesh Construction...

PMLA Prosecution After Conviction In Predicate Offence Does Not Attract Double Jeopardy: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) after conviction in the predicate offence does not amount to double jeopardy. It observed that money laundering is a distinct statutory offence and prosecution under the PMLA is not a second trial for the same offence.A bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna held, "The prosecution under the PMLA is neither the second trial for the same offence nor constitutional transgression. It is a...

Telangana High Court Holds Valid Reasons To Believe Justify ED Asset Retention In MMTC Fraud Case

The Telangana High Court on 1 July upheld the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) power to retain seized cash, gold jewellery, precious stones, documents and electronic devices where the adjudicating authority records reasons to believe that such assets may constitute proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A Division Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda dismissed an appeal filed by Musaddilal Gems and related entities, while affirming the...

Telangana High Court Dismisses ED Appeals In VANPIC Money Laundering Case Linked To Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy

The Telangana High Court has recently dismissed a batch of appeals filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged quid pro quo investments case linked to companies promoted by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The CBI had alleged that companies invested in businesses linked to him in return for favours extended by the then Andhra Pradesh government headed by his father, late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The appeals challenged a PMLA Appellate Tribunal order directing the release of...

'Personal Preference Not Medical Necessity': Chhattisgarh High Court Refuses PMLA Accused's UAE Travel Plea

The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently observed that "personal preference cannot be equated with absolute medical necessity" while refusing to allow a businessman accused in a money laundering case to travel to Abu Dhabi for treatment. It held that an accused cannot insist on treatment in a foreign country when equivalent medical care is readily available in India. Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas upheld a special court's order rejecting Sunil Kumar Agrawal's request to travel to the UAE for KKT...