Equivalent value attachment under PMLA upheld where proceeds of crime were untraceable and subcontractor defence lacked proof.

Where proceeds of crime are not traceable, property of equivalent value may be attached under PMLA. The Tribunal upheld provisional attachment based on alleged fake bitumen invoices and held that the definition of proceeds of crime extends to equivalent value where the tainted property is unavailable. It further found that a subcontracting arrangement did not displace the principal contractor's responsibility absent reliable documentary proof, and rejected the challenge to the attachment order.

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Issues: Whether the provisional attachment of property of equivalent value under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was sustainable where the tainted amount was alleged to have been routed through business activities and the appellants claimed that execution responsibility lay with the subcontractor.

Analysis: The appeals arose from confirmation of provisional attachment based on allegations of submission of fake bitumen invoices and generation of proceeds of crime quantified at Rs. 1,08,95,583/-. The Tribunal held that the contractual responsibility for execution of the road work remained with the appellant company, and the plea that the subcontractor alone was responsible was not supported by reliable documentary proof. The Tribunal further held that the definition of proceeds of crime is not confined to property directly derived from the scheduled offence, but extends to the value of such property where the tainted property is unavailable, thereby permitting attachment of property of equivalent value. It also found no merit in the challenge based on the earlier High Court order or on the allegation that the adjudicating order was mechanical.

Conclusion: The challenge to the provisional attachment failed, and the attachment of equivalent value was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appellants remained liable for the alleged laundering-linked loss, and the impugned attachment order stood sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where proceeds of crime are not traceable, the authority may attach property of equivalent value, and a subcontracting arrangement does not by itself displace the principal contractor's responsibility absent cogent proof.

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