ED flags legal hurdles in money laundering probe | India News

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New Delhi: Striking a hard note, Enforcement Directorate On Friday raising the issue of legal hurdles coming in the way of the agency, its chief Rahul Naveen questioned the proposal that investigations into money laundering offenses should not proceed until trials of predicate offenses are completed.“Of course, there are legal challenges before the court, the most important being whether the money laundering case should be adjourned until the trial is over or should continue on a case-by-case basis in line with international standards and Financial Action Task Force guidelines,” the ED chief said.His comments, on the occasion of the agency’s 70th foundation day and in the presence of Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chowdhury, are likely to sharpen the debate over whether investigations into money laundering offenses must necessarily piggyback on predicate offences; It is the crime that generates the money for money laundering, or has it, the magnitude of money laundering, an independent existence.The issue is in an area of ​​ambiguity as the Supreme Court in the Vijay Madanlal Chowdhury case framed the investigation of money laundering as a predicate offence, while there are high court judgments which have recognized money laundering as a distinct offence.Naveen said that ambiguity is hampering the functioning of the ED despite being successful in achieving 94% conviction rate. In his comments, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who represents the agency in the Constitutional Court, agreed with the ED director.The ED chief also expressed confidence that the agency would maintain its “strike” on the more than 2,400 cases now pending in trial courts, leading to the seizure of huge amounts as proceeds of crime. The celebrations were notable in that they expressed the government’s solidarity with the agency, which has been accused of being a tool of political vendetta.“Over the past few years, ED has become the subject of extensive public discussion. The country has an ecosystem that realizes a problem in every solution. No matter what you do, such people will inevitably start finding fault with it. In fact, ever since Modiji assumed the leadership of the country in 2014, and started taking tough decisions in the national interest, the foundation of this ecosystem has been shaken,” said the junior finance minister.Talking about ED’s legal challenge, SV Raju said the current understanding of the law is that the predicate offense is like an “umbilical cord” for money laundering offences, but, he stressed that the acquittal of an accused or the closure report filed in a predicate offense should not end the ED’s investigation as the agency can always challenge as a new party and share fresh evidence.Later at the award ceremony, two assistant director-rank officers of ED—Vikram Ahlawat and Prashant Chandila—were among the few others who received their certificates.Ahlawat and Chandila were part of the inquiry at political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata on January 8. The search was disrupted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her senior police officers.