New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) ED director Rahul Navin on Thursday said that the anti-money laundering law was left "largely ineffective" before 2014, and the slowdown in adjudication of these cases can be attributed to the "general delay" in the judicial system of the country coupled with the inherent complexity of such investigations.

Navin also said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had a "commendable conviction" rate of 93.6 per cent as out of the 47 cases decided by courts till now, there have been only three acquittals.

Speaking at an event held here to mark the 'ED Day', the agency chief said he "acknowledges candidly" that several investigations initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were pending for a "very long time", and one their focus areas this year would be to undertake efforts to complete probe and file "final" chargesheets fast.

The PMLA was enacted in 2003 and came into force on July 1, 2005, but, Navin said, it was "largely ineffective" in the initial years with less than 200 cases recorded per year and that too mostly "restricted" to drug-related offences.

He said the total "criminal" property attached by the ED was worth only Rs 5,171 crore till March 2014, with the first chargesheet filed only in 2012.

"After 2014, however, there has been a significant step-up in enforcement activity. From 2014 to 2024, 5,113 new PMLA investigations were initiated, averaging more than 500 cases per year," Navin said.

"Building on this momentum, we note with satisfaction that in the financial year 2024-25, 775 new PMLA investigations were launched, 333 prosecution complaints were filed and notably, 34 individuals were convicted," the ED director said .

In the last fiscal, the agency also issued 461 provisional attachment orders valued at Rs 30,036 crore, which the ED chief said marked a 44 per cent increase in the number of attachments and a "striking" 141 per cent rise in their total value compared to the previous financial year.

As on March 31, 2025, the total value of assets under provisional attachment stood at Rs 1,54,594 crore, he said.

Giving out an all-round analysis of the work done over the last year, Navin said the ED filed 333 chargesheets, taking the total cases under various stages of trial to 1,739 as on March 2025.

"While the delay in the adjudication of these cases can be attributed to the general delay in the judicial system, it was also on account of the inherent complexity of money laundering investigations and the procedural linkages with the trial of the predicate offence," the ED chief said.

In an attempt to counter the charge made by various opposition parties about the "poor" conviction rate of the ED, Navin said it was a matter of "great satisfaction" that in cases where courts reached a verdict, the outcomes have "overwhelmingly supported the strength of our enforcement actions".

Of the 47 cases decided so far, he said, there have been only three acquittals, yielding a "commendable" conviction rate of 93.6 per cent.

"We acknowledge candidly that several PMLA investigations are pending for a very long time, and one of the focus areas this year would be to undertake efforts to complete the probe and file the final prosecution complaint and prayer for confiscation of criminal property before the special courts," Navin said.

"We understand that long-pending investigations may fail to create deterrence and instead attract criticism," he said.

Navin also said the process to restitute or restore assets to the victims of financial crimes will "accelerate".

Although these assets earned through criminal activities have been secured through provisional attachment and seizures, a substantial portion remain "unproductive" until their final confiscation by courts, which is a time-consuming process, he said.

To unlock the "economic potential" of these assets and to "compensate" victims and legitimate owners, concerted efforts have been undertaken by the ED for the restitution of these properties under the non-conviction based confiscation and restitution provisions available under the PMLA and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA), Navin said.

"I am happy to report that with the approval of the courts, restitution of Rs 15,261 crore was done in 30 cases during the 2024-25 financial year and this process is likely to accelerate," he said.

Speaking about the FEOA, he said this law of 2018 was a "significant" step in India's efforts to combat economic offences, particularly those committed by individuals who believe that fleeing the country will "shield" them from justice.

Navin said ED has filed applications to get declared 24 individuals as fugitive economic offenders till now, with 14 of them being declared as such. Liquor baron Vijay Mallya and diamond jeweller Nirav Modi are among those declared fugitive economic offenders.

The ED has "confiscated" assets worth more than Rs 900 crore till now under the FEAO and we are planning to enforce these provisions "more effectively" in coordination with the police and other predicate agencies, he said.

Speaking about the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Director said ED will encourage defaulters of this civil law, in appropriate cases, to file applications for "compounding" of the offence.

"ED will carry out necessary investigations and adjudication and will impose penalties in cases of defaults related to export-import manipulations, violations of norms related to FDI (foreign direct investment) and external commercial borrowings, restrictions on land ownership by non-residents, transfer of money abroad through unauthorised channels, etc.," he said.

The director also said the ED plans to use advanced technology and forensics in its investigations.

"We are committed to provide training and capacity building to our officers and staff so that they remain at the cutting edge of international best practices and investigative techniques," Navin said.

The ED on Thursday completed 69 years of its existence as it was established on this day in 1956.

The agency functions under the Union finance ministry.

Union minister of state for finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, officiated as the chief guest at the event. PTI NES ARI ARI