NEW DELHI: Paris-based Financial Action Task Force has asked India to reduce the number of pending trials in money laundering cases. In its mutual evaluation report released on Thursday, the money laundering and terror financing watchdog said India must increase conviction-based confiscations.
The report notes that the Enforcement Directorate has made non-conviction based seizures to the tune of Rs 16,497 crore from FY19 to FY23, while confiscations based on convictions were worth Rs 39 crore. During the five-year period, the ED started 4,163 investigations, of which 28 cases ended in conviction. In 132 cases, the ED decided to not probe further.
According to the report, the number of investigations has been increasing but the number of prosecution complaints has not kept pace. To increase the rate of conviction, the FATF suggested that India enhance resourcing for ED and specialised courts to be able to swiftly conclude pending prosecutions and sustain timely investigation, prosecution, and conviction.
The evaluation report praises India for its “strong provisional measures for depriving criminals from the benefits of their crimes and helping prevent asset flight through the attachment (seizure) of proceeds of crime”. It also notes that India seizes large amounts of proceeds and instrumentalities associated with crimes that are not prioritised for money laundering investigations.
Vivek Aggarwal, additional secretary (revenue) in the Ministry of Finance, said India has been placed in ‘regular follow-up’, which is the highest rating category by FATF. The UK, France and Italy are the only other G-20 countries that have been placed in this category.
According to the report, India has fully complied with 37 out of 40 recommendations for curbing money laundering and terror financing.
FATF mutual evaluations are in-depth country reports analysing the implementation and effectiveness of measures to combat money laundering and terror financing.