The HC dismissed the petition seeking exoneration from money...

The HC dismissed the petition seeking exoneration from money laundering charges under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, despite the petitioner's name being omitted from the final report on the scheduled offence. The court held that involvement in money laundering encompasses any direct or indirect participation in concealment, possession, acquisition, or use of proceeds of crime, independent of involvement in the predicate offence generating such proceeds. Reliance on precedent establishing discharge or acquittal in the scheduled offence does not preclude prosecution under the PMLA if there is separate evidence of laundering activities. Therefore, omission from the final report on the original offence does not bar prosecution if the petitioner is implicated in laundering processes. The petition was accordingly dismissed, affirming that money laundering liability can arise independently of the scheduled offence.

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