NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has recently held that offences committed under foreign laws can be treated as predicate offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) if they have cross-border implications, specifically when proceeds of the crime have moved to India.
Justice Vikas Mahajan, while interpreting key provisions of the PMLA and its 2013 amendments, emphasised that crimes committed abroad can be prosecuted in India under the PMLA if they correspond to the offences listed under Part C of the Act and involve financial proceeds crossing into Indian jurisdiction.
The case came to the court’s attention when three men, Adnan Nisar, Shivang Malkoti, and Vishal Moral, were granted bail after an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The probe agency had acted on a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request from the US Department of Justice, alleging that Moral, an Indian national, was involved in laundering approximately USD 5,27,615 worth of cryptocurrency stolen from a US resident’s Ledger Hardware Wallet.
The court scrutinised various provisions of the PMLA, concluding that a foreign offence that leads to proceeds of crime in India can activate prosecution under the PMLA, irrespective of the trial proceedings in the foreign nation. In this case, while the crime originated in the US, the flow of illegal funds into India allowed the ED to investigate under Indian law.
Justice Mahajan noted that a foreign predicate offence must correspond to one listed in the PMLA schedule. However, the court found insufficient evidence to definitively link the US offence to a PMLA-scheduled crime. Despite this gap, the court agreed with the ED that foreign investigations empower Indian authorities to act, including making arrests and seizing assets under the PMLA.
Bail denied to UAPA accused UK national
The HC on Wednesday refused to grant bail to British Sikh national Jagtar Singh Johal in several cases lodged against him under anti-terror law UAPA. He is accused in seven cases being probed by NIA in relation to alleged targeted killings in Ludhiana and Jalandhar in 2016-2017. The NIA claimed that Johal, arrested in 2017, was an “active member” of Khalistan Liberation Force.
Rs 10.5L compensation for sexually abused
The HC has granted a Rs 10.5 lakh compensation to a woman, a victim of sexual abuse by her father when she was a minor, saying compensation is an essential part of curing justice. The victim had alleged that her father had physically and sexually abused her in 2018 when she was 17 years old.When the accused was out on interim bail, he committed suicide in 2021.
Court acquits acid attack accused
Over four years after a man was booked for culpable homicide for pouring acid over another man, who later died during treatment, a court here has acquitted the accused, saying there were contradictory versions regarding the crime. The court also underlined that according to the medical report, the victim did not die of the burn injuries and the scalded area in his body was less than 9%. Golu had an altercation with the victim, following which poured acid over him in October 2019. Four-five days later, the victim was admitted to a hospital where he died.