About 80 PML Case pending for trial in Mumbai from 2008 till 2022

As per the news report published on 29.03.2022 in the Indian Express about 80 cases under Prevention of Money Laundry are pending trial in the Mumbai Courts from 2008 till 2022. So far, the trial in three cases has been concluded. Most of the cases are pending on the discharge applications filed by the accused and framing of charges. In a recent order, a special court in Mumbai designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not shown an ‘active approach’ in beginning trials, pending for many years. 

A special court had – in its recent order while granting bail to the accused in the Avantha Group realty case, including Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor – noted that not a single case under PMLA has been disposed of by judgment.

“It is a fact that, ever since this special Court for PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) cases has been established, not a single PMLA case has been disposed of by judgment. ED had not shown any active approach to begin the trials of the cases which have been pending since long,” the court had said.

Records show that between 2008 and 2012, the ED had not more than one or two cases filed per year. None of these cases, pending for over a decade, have seen the trial commence so far.

In 2008, the ED had registered a case against a company named OPM International, booked for alleged money laundering following a case filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau. Charges are yet to be framed in the case. The court is currently hearing discharge pleas filed by the accused.

A case registered by the ED in 2009 against Dutch national Ashok Chugani and others is also pending hearing. In 2019, the Supreme Court had sought an explanation on why the trial was delayed and ordered for it to be expedited in 2021.

In 2012, the ED had registered a money laundering case against a financial firm and others. Charges were framed in the case in September 2021. Witness deposition is yet to begin.

Records show that the cases registered under PMLA began to gradually increase since 2013 from the single cases filed each year between 2008 and 2012. With ED filing multiple complaints resulting from the same offense, as accused are sometimes added at a later stage, some of the complaints are repeated despite resulting from the same alleged crime.

In 2013, the cases filed by the ED, including one in the alleged Ponzi scheme case of City Limousine Group, are also pending with charges yet to be framed. The other cases in 2013 include one against a ‘doctor’ who allegedly offered a cure for all diseases including cancer, Munir Khan, and one against Dipak Panchal and over 20 others for allegedly opening fictitious accounts to avail loans. In both cases, charges are yet to be framed.

In 2014, of the seven PMLA cases, one was stayed by the Bombay High Court in February 2021, and in three cases charges are yet to be framed. In one case, the accused is absconding with warrants issued against him, and in two cases resulting from the same complaint, the accused were discharged by the court in 2015.

The 11 cases filed in 2015 include the one in the NSEL case against Jignesh Shah and others, where charges are yet to be framed. Only in one case have charges been framed.

Of the four cases filed in 2016, including one against NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal charges have not been framed yet. The 12 cases filed in 2017 include the one against Kingfisher Airlines, one against former MLA Ramesh Kadam, one against the family of Dawood aide, Iqbal Memon, and others.

In only one case, the court discharged the accused after the ED gave no objection, stating that there was no material to prove money laundering.

Among the 29 cases filed in 2018, including against businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, only one case has reached the evidence stage, with charges framed against the accused but witnesses are yet to be examined. Most cases are pending at the stage of hearing discharge applications.

In the eight cases registered in 2019 and 11 in 2020, charges are yet to be framed. These include the case against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and former ICICI MD Chanda Kochhar. The court records show 15 cases filed by the ED in 2021, including against NCP leaders Eknath Khadse and Anil Deshmukh.

In a few cases, court records show that courts have stated that they are giving a ‘last chance’ to both ED and the defense advocates to appear before it, but the pendency remains.