New Delhi: India’s anti-black money and prevention of money laundering legislations are making an impact, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday informed Parliament. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has so far successfully restored properties valued at approximately Rs 22,280 crore to legitimate claimants in major cases, including from cases related to fugitive economic offenders Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, she said.
Additionally, the government has collected a total tax of Rs 2,655 crore till June 2024 under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, the minister added.
“There is no way in which I can go on listening to very many members, who without the facts go on saying … haircut has happened, big people are allowed to take money, small people are punished. No way. We have not left anyone,” she said in the Lok Sabha in her reply during a debate on the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants presented by the government.
“Even if they have left the country, we have gone after them. ED has collected this money and given it back to banks … Rs 14,131 crore only from Vijay Mallya,” the minister said, adding that in Mallya’s case, the complete amount of attached properties has been restored to public sector banks.
The PMLA allows the government to confiscate properties acquired through illicit means. The law stipulates that assets may be returned to bona fide claimants once a trial commences—specifically after charges are framed against the accused by the special court under PMLA.
Giving details of restored properties, Sitharaman added that, in the Nirav Modi case, properties worth Rs 1,052.58 crore have been restored to public and private banks, and in the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) case, Rs 17.47 crore has been restituted by ED through Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999, to the genuine investors defrauded.
In the case of ‘Mehul Choksi and others’, property valued at Rs 2565.90 crore has been restored, she said.
According to an ED press statement dated 10 December, to expedite the process of restitution of properties to the victim banks, the agency along with the banks took proactive steps towards monetisation of the assets.
Similarly, the quantum of property restored stood at Rs 20.15 crore in SRS Group case (Pearl City and Prime projects in Gurugram), Rs 19.40 crore in Rose Valley Group case, Rs 185.13 crore in Surya Pharmaceutical case, Rs 226 crore in Nowhera Shaik and Others (Heera Group) case.
In the case of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL), the Supreme Court ordered restitution of assets worth Rs 4,025 crore to JSW Group through an order dated 11 December.
“It is a bank fraud case wherein the creditor banks had initiated CIRP [Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process] under IBC [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016] and JSW was the successful resolution applicant,” the ED said in a statement on 14 December.
“It is important to recognise that we have not left anybody in economic offences, we are after them,” Sitharaman asserted in Parliament. “We will be making sure that money which is to go back to the banks will go back.”
Data shared by the finance minister shows that the number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets have more than tripled from 60,467 in 2021-22 to about 2 lakh in 2024-25. She added that the Black Money Act is a deterrent for taxpayers and now they come forward on their own and disclose foreign assets.
Speaking on the economy during the debate, she said that the slower-than-expected GDP growth of 5.4 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year was a “temporary blip” and the economy will see healthy growth in the coming quarters. The second quarter had been “challenging” for India and “most economies” in the world, she added.
Sitharaman also said that India has seen “steady and sustained” growth and its GDP growth rate has averaged 8.3 percent in the last three years, which is an “outstanding number”.
The minister also said a generalised slowdown in manufacturing is not expected, adding that there is no broad-based slowdown in the manufacturing sector and half of the sectors within the overall manufacturing basket continue to remain strong.
Sitharaman also highlighted that trends show inflation is better controlled under the NDA regime, whereas under the UPA, it touched double digits.
After her reply, the Lok Sabha passed the supplementary demand for Rs 87,762.56 crore in additional expenditure. Of this, the actual net increase in spending would amount to Rs 44,142.87 crore, with the rest coming from unspent funds of ministries and departments or through enhanced receipts.
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