ED: Only 2.98% PMLA cases against politicians

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 16

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said only 2.98 per cent or 176 of its 5,906 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) have been filed against serving or former MPs or MLAs even as the conviction rate in all cases is as high as 96 per cent.

Conviction rate 96%

• 5,906 total ECIRs filed
• 176 against politicians
• 1,142 chargesheets filed
• 513 persons arrested
• 25 trials completed
• 24 ended in conviction

The ED has released data of its action under the three laws it enforces — the PMLA, the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act — till January 31, 2023. The ED was entrusted with enforcing the stringent provisions of the PMLA, enacted in 2002, from July 1, 2005.

Opposition parties have often criticised the ED for choosing to act against politicians from their ranks and claimed the agency had a dismal conviction rate. A senior ED official said the allegations were “completely misplaced” as they compared the total cases registered and their finality in courts. “In cases where trials got completed, the agency’s performance is commendable.”