Instead of the current limit of 90 days, the Finance Bill 2019 proposes to amend the PMLA to give ED a whole year to investigate cases.
New Delhi: Property attachments made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during an investigation will remain valid for a period of one year, as against the existing limit of 90 days, as per a clause in the Finance Bill, 2019.
The Finance Bill proposes amendments to the PMLA of 2002, which would give the ED at least nine extra months to complete its investigations.
This comes a time when the ED is attaching properties of fugitive economic offenders like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Former finance minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti are also under the ED scanner under the PMLA Act in the INX media case. Karti Chidambaram’s assets have been attached.
“Clause 22 of the Bill seeks to amend sub-section (3) of section 8 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, so as to extend the time limit of ninety days for which the attachment shall remain valid during the period of investigation to three hundred and sixty-five days and also to provide that in computing the period of three hundred and sixty-five days, the period during which the investigation is stayed by any court shall be excluded,” stated the explanation to the proposed change in the budget document.
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Good for ED and the accused
S. Ravi, advocate at Sri Law Associates, said it is a good thing for both the ED and the accused.
“ED earlier used to get 90 days to file a prosecution compliant after seizure of assets. It was just not enough. One year gives ED more time to collect evidence and build a strong case. At the same time, it gives the accused more time to prove their innocence,” he said.
Amit Maheshwari, managing partner at Ashok Maheshwary and Associates LLP, added that the period could be increased further “in case the courts have ordered a stay”.