New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the last 10-and-a- half years, has filed closure reports in 49 cases before special courts meant to try anti-money laundering crimes, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

The agency secured eight conviction orders involving 15 people from the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) courts between 2015 to June 2025, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written statement furnished in Rajya Sabha.

He was asked about the details of all cases lodged by the ED since 2015 where charge sheets have not yet been filed in courts, trial of the accused has not started and prosecution has been closed by the federal probe agency.

"During the period from 01.01.2015 to 30.06.2025, the Directorate of Enforcement has taken up 5,892 cases for investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002," the minister said.

In these cases, 1,398 prosecution complaints including 353 supplementary charge sheets have been filed before the respective special courts under PMLA, he said.

Out of these, so far, the special courts have framed charges in 300 prosecution complaints including 66 supplementary charge sheets, Chaudhary said.

"As on 30.06.2025, the PMLA special courts have convicted 15 persons in 08 conviction orders in these cases," he stated.

The reply did not specify the reasons for filing of the closure reports by the ED.

According to the scheme of PMLA, money laundering cases are only registered after taking cognisance of a predicate offence or primary case booked under various sections of the IPC or BNS and other laws.

The courts have held that if the primary case falls before a court of law, the PMLA case will automatically go away. PTI NES ZMN

Closure reports in money-laundering inquiries under PMLA highlight prosecutorial discontinuance where predicate offences remain before courts. The ED has initiated numerous investigations under the PMLA, filed prosecution complaints and supplementary charge sheets, and in some matters filed closure reports where the PMLA prosecution depends on an underlying predicate offence; continuance or disposition of that primary case can affect the viability of the PMLA prosecution before special courts.