Out of 354 arrests made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, only 32 accused persons have been convicted in the last five years, the Union government told Parliament on Tuesday.
Of these, 12 convictions have been recorded in the current Financial Year (FY) up to January 31, 2023.
Union Minister of State of Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik was answering to a question by Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.
The minister also said that till December 31 last year, trials in 1,055 PMLA cases are pending before special courts across the country.
Since the PMLA came into force in 2005, trial has been completed only for 36 accused. As on December 31, 2022, trials in 1,055 cases were still pending across PMLA courts in India.
The Union also claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has secured 22 conviction orders in which 36 accused have been convicted. One order of acquittal has been challenged before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Thus, the percentage of conviction in PMLA cases is 95.65%, the Union stated.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act was enacted by NDA government in 2002 to prevent money laundering mainly resulting from the international narcotics and drugs trade. It was amended by the Narendra Modi government in 2019 to make it retrospectively applicable.
Opposition parties and rights groups have been accusing Narendra Modi government and Enforcement Directorate of targeting and arbitrarily arresting the dissent voices against the government.
