ED Cases Under PMLA Rose To A Four-Year High In FY26, Pg13

Key Highlights:

• Cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) reached a four-year high of 1,080 in Financial Year 2025-26.
• A total of 4,622 PMLA cases were registered by the ED over the last five years.
• The conviction rate for ED under PMLA remained low at 0.93%, with only 43 convictions between FY22 and FY26.
• The Income Tax Department filed 2,127 prosecution cases over the last five years (FY22-FY26), securing 233 convictions.

Detailed Insights:

• The number of PMLA cases registered by ED declined from 1,116 in FY22 to 698 in FY24, before rising to 1,080 in FY26.
• ED has filed prosecution complaints in 2,444 PMLA cases before Special Courts, and 1,243 accused have been arrested.
• The 43 convictions in PMLA cases between FY22-FY26 involved 104 convicted persons.
• Income Tax Department prosecution cases were lowest in three years at 432 in FY26, down from 611 in FY25.
• Income Tax Department prosecution complaints are filed after sanction from the competent authority under Section 279(1) of the Income-tax Act.
• Acquittals in Income Tax Department cases were high, with 854 cases seeing acquittals over five years, and 293 in FY26 alone.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Enforcement Directorate (ED): A law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
• Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA): An Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prevent money laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from money laundering.
• Prosecution Complaint: A formal document filed by an investigating agency before a court, equivalent to a charge sheet, detailing the alleged offenses and evidence.