Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal
FATF, the organization that prevents international financial crime, i.e. Financial Action Task Force, praised the work of the investigating agency ED. FATF works to prevent money laundering and terror funding at the global level. It has praised India’s anti-money laundering and terrorism financing system. FATF said in its report that between the years 2018 and 2023, the central investigating agency seized Rs 16537 crore under PMLA. The special thing is that about Rs 14 thousand crore earned by Vijay Mallya through fraud from a group of banks was returned to the banks.
Kejriwal and Sisodia returned from jail after serving time in ED-related case
Let us tell you that the opposition has been cursing the same ED that FATF is praising. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were in jail for a long time in ED related cases. Apart from them, many leaders of the country have become victims of ED action, in such a situation the opposition alleges that ED is targeting only opposition leaders. Now FATF has praised the same ED.
ED also took strict action on terrorist funding
The report said that apart from PMLA, ED took commendable steps to crack down on cross border transactions and hawala business and in collaboration with NIA, ED also took strict action on terrorist funding in the country. The report said that under the Benami Transaction Act and Income Tax Act, ED also took several major actions and confiscated the property of many accused. ED also exposed many big criminal nexus in cases related to cyber crime.
FATF also mentioned four cases in its report which are being investigated by ED-
- First Mangaluru Blast – In which ED tracked the financial trail in this case, investigation revealed that terror funding was done through eight different virtual asset transfers (crypto currency).
- The second case is related to the funding investigation of the banned organization PFI. The investigation revealed that PFI has a connection with ISIL. The investigation of the money trail revealed three hundred bank accounts which were opened in 22 different branches of eleven banks for funding. After the disclosure of this money trail in the investigation by ED, not only some accused associated with PFI were arrested but the organization was also banned for five years.
- Third Vijay Mallya case- Mallya is currently abroad, although the way for his extradition to India was cleared in the year 2019 but due to the delay in the legal process going on in the court in the UK, this was not possible.
- The fourth case is related to terror funding in Kashmir. In the FIR filed by NIA in 2017 against Lashkar, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen and All Party Hurriyat Conference, ED also filed its own ECIR and revealed the money trail of terror funding, after which Yasin Malik was arrested in 2022.
How does ED get maximum information in money laundering cases?
In its latest mutual evaluation report for India on Thursday, the FATF said that media reports, social media comments, intelligence inputs and complaints form a major part of the information based on which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) identifies money laundering cases. The FATF, which leads the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, also praised India’s systems and arrangements for the fight and asked the country to bring in “major reforms” to strengthen prosecution in such cases.
“The bulk of money laundering investigations are conducted by the ED from open sources; information received from the general public, media reports and social networks followed by verification of information through CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System) database and money laundering reports by LEAs (law enforcement agencies),” the 368-page report said. “A significant portion of money laundering investigations are based on direct ‘referrals’ by nodal officers of the Enforcement Directorate. Each law enforcement agency, both at the central and state levels, has one of its own personnel appointed as ED nodal officer,” the report said.
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