Provisional Attachment: unsupported without verified nexus to criminal proceeds, so attachments of professional fees were set aside.

Provisional attachment of chartered accountants' professional fees and related cash deposits cannot stand where authorities fail to verify a nexus between the receipts and any principal accused or criminal proceeds; explanations for cash receipts and returned sale proceeds that were unrefuted by evidence cannot be treated as proceeds of crime. Amounts attributed via third parties require proof of receipt or an employment relationship before being imputed to the appellants. Operatively, absent verified traceability or supporting evidence, the contested attachments were set aside and the appeals allowed in favour of the appellants.

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Issues: Whether the provisional attachment of the appellants' movable properties and professional fees by treating them as "proceeds of crime" was sustainable.

Analysis: The appellants are chartered accountants who received professional fees across various financial years. The Adjudicating Authority confirmed provisional attachment treating those receipts and certain cash deposits as proceeds of crime. The Tribunal examined whether there was any material or verified nexus connecting the amounts received by the appellants (including receipts shown through third parties) to the principal accused or to criminal proceeds. The Tribunal noted the absence of any satisfactory verification by the respondents that the specific amounts were received from the main accused or were traceable as criminal proceeds. Explanations given by the appellants for particular cash receipts (including sale proceeds returned) were not rebutted by evidence showing transfer from criminal sources. Amounts shown as received by an allegedly independent professional were incorrectly attributed to the appellants without proof of receipt or employment relationship. The respondents failed to establish on the record that the professional fees or deposits in question constituted proceeds of crime.

Conclusion: The provisional attachment orders insofar as they concern the appellants' professional fees and related deposits are set aside. The appeals are allowed in favour of the appellants.

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