ED's attachment orders under PMLA upheld; retrospective application valid, sham transactions rejected under Section 5(1)

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....The AT dismissed the appeals, upholding the ED's provisional attachment orders under PMLA. It held that ED's investigation is confined to the quantum of proceeds of crime and related procedural aspects, without re-examining the predicate offence findings of police/CBI. The retrospective application of PMLA was deemed valid, as attachment procedures existed pre-PMLA under CrPC and other statutes. The ED had sufficient reason to believe appellants possessed proceeds of crime, given evidence of financial fraud and misutilisation of loan funds. Properties of equivalent value were rightly attached despite no direct link to proceeds of crime, applying the extended definition under PMLA. Sham transactions to evade attachment were rejected, with cl.........