2019 (6) TMI 128 - AT - Money Laundering

Appellate Tribunal Orders Release of Frozen Bank Accounts under PMLA

Amanpreet Singh Sodhi, Geoxa Steel Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Color 9 Productions LLP, M/s. Ludhianvi Tigers Pvt. Ltd. Versus The Joint Director Directorate of Enforcement, Chandigarh

The Appellate Tribunal ordered the de-freezing of all four bank accounts that were frozen by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of ... Freezing bank account of appellants - scheduled offence bearing Sections 120B r/w 420 of IPC and Sections 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act against the appellants and other persons - HELD THAT:- Having gone through the earlier two appeals, the present appeals are disposed of with the direction that all four accounts are de-freezed. We also direct the appellants that they shall not deal with the balance amount lying with the said accounts. Only to this aspect, the impugned order is modified with regard to appellants. All four appeals are disposed of along with pending applications. Issues:1. Freezing of bank accounts by ED under PMLA2. Appeal for de-freezing of bank accounts3. Allegations of money laundering4. Legal arguments regarding the frozen accountsAnalysis:1. The judgment involves the freezing of bank accounts by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED froze multiple bank accounts based on an FIR registered by the CBI for scheduled offenses, including sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act against the appellants and others.2. An appeal was made before the Appellate Tribunal to de-freeze the bank accounts that were frozen by the ED. The appellants sought relief to release the frozen accounts, arguing against the presumption of money laundering by the ED.3. The ED's case for freezing the bank accounts was based on the suspicion of money laundering. The appellants responded to the Show Cause Notice by denying any link between the frozen accounts and alleged money laundering activities. They argued that there was no evidence of any proceeds of crime associated with the frozen accounts.4. Previous appeals resulted in detailed orders de-freezing some bank accounts, with the appellants agreeing not to deal with the funds in those accounts. In the present judgment, all four accounts were de-frozen, with the directive that the appellants should not transact with the balance amount in those accounts. The impugned order was modified accordingly, and the appeals were disposed of without any costs incurred.