Provisional attachment confirmed where charge sheet plus corroborative investigative material establish a prima facie link to proceeds of crime.

Provisional attachment of seized cash may be confirmed where a filed charge sheet together with corroborative investigative material and voluntary disclosures create a prima facie link to proceeds of crime; the statutory presumption in interconnected transactions supports a reason to believe and justifies interim attachment as a protective measure pending trial. Procedural provisions do not automatically bar confirmation merely because the property is in criminal court custody, and absence of contemporaneous sale evidence undermines later exculpatory explanations. Outcome: the provisional attachment is confirmed and the appeal is allowed in favour of the appellant enforcement agency.

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Issues: Whether Provisional Attachment Order No. 07/2018 dated 31.03.2018 relating to cash of Rs. 50 lakhs should be confirmed as proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Analysis: The attachment proceedings arose after CBI investigations, arrest and filing of charge-sheet for scheduled offences; trial and framing of charges in the predicate criminal proceedings were on record. The evidentiary record includes recovery of cash in a trap, voluntary statements by the persons in possession, and recorded telephone communications corroborating the chain of delivery. The defence that the cash represented sale proceeds was recorded as a later explanation supported by a sale deed executed much later; the explanation involved payment in cash and raised credibility concerns. Section 23 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 creates a presumption in inter connected transactions, which coupled with the predicate charge sheet and investigative material, supports a reason to believe for attachment. The proviso and procedural requirements to Section 5(1) and Rule 7 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Taking Possession of Attached or Frozen Properties Confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013 do not preclude provisional attachment where there is reason to believe and the property is at risk; attachment under the Act is an interim protective measure pending conclusion of trial, and the availability of the property in custody of a criminal court does not automatically bar confirmation of attachment. The Adjudicating Authority's conclusion rejecting confirmation as lacking prima facie material was inconsistent with the existence of a charge sheet, voluntary disclosures and corroborative investigative material.

Conclusion: Provisional Attachment Order No. 07/2018 dated 31.03.2018 is confirmed; appeal allowed in favour of the appellant Directorate of Enforcement.

Ratio Decidendi: Where there is a filed charge sheet and corroborative investigative material creating a prima facie case that seized property is proceeds of crime, provisional attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 may be confirmed as an interim protective measure to preserve property for possible confiscation upon conviction.

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