AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 1469
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....estion were neither conducting any business operation at the address provided, nor residing at the permanent residential address. On the basis of the statements of investors who transferred funds to the bank accounts in question, the petitioner's name transpired. The investors had acquired knowledge of forex trading and received training on the IX Global platform. They were instructed to invest funds in TP Global FX with the expectation of generating substantial returns. It is alleged that the petitioner was a distributor of IX Global LLC and misled the public to induce them into investing on the TP Global FX platform. Two bank accounts maintained with the HDFC Bank were traced and it was found that one of these accounts reflected credit transactions including a transfer of Rs. 19.40 lakhs to the account of the petitioner from an identity identified as TP Global Services. The accounts were thereafter frozen. The petitioner was taken into custody on December 24, 2023 in connection with the PMLA Case being M.L. Case No. 1 of 2023 and was formally shown as arrested in the predicate offence on January 8, 2024. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner h....
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....reported in 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1920. 5. Vehemently opposing the prayer, learned counsel for the Enforcement Directorate (hereinafter referred to as the E.D.) has submitted that the case was initiated on the basis of the complaint lodged by the Regional Manager, Canara Bank, wherein it has been alleged that huge transaction has been noticed in the account of M/s. T.M. Traders and M/s. K.K. Traders maintained at Canara Bank, Narendrapur branch which were opened on August 31, 2022. Huge debit transaction appeared in the aforesaid account on September 17, 2022 within a span of less than a month for which the bank suspected the credibility of the transactions and verified the entities' registered address as per bank records. Upon verification it was discovered that no such party was carrying on business at the given address furnished in the account opening form, nor were the parties residing at the permanent residential address in Jamshedpur. The entire credits were effected through UPI, NEFT and RTGS transactions and thereafter transferred to multiple accounts by the customers to the parties through internet banking. The platform of TP Global FX was used in the funding of forex. On ....
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..../s. The Union of India in SLP (Crl.) No(s). 11385/2024; 3) Rohit Tandon v/s. Directorate of Enforcement reported in (2018) 11 SCC 46; 4) Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy v/s. CBI reported in (2013) 7 SCC 439; 5) Tarun Kumar v/s. Assistant Director, Directorate of Enforcement reported in 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1486; 6) Gautam Kundu v/s. Directorate of Enforcement reported in (2015) 16 SCC 1; 7) Vijay Madanlal Choudhury & Ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors. reported in 2002 SCC OnLine SC 929, and 8) The Union of India through the Assistant Director v. Kanhaiya Prasad reported in 2025 SCC OnLine SC 306. 11. I have considered the rival contention of the parties and material on record. 12. The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the authority in Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (supra), has observed as hereunder:- "34. Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious....
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....nvolvement transpired from the statement of co-accused under Section 50 of the PMLA, the truth and veracity of which need to be weighed during trial. The petitioner was arrested on December 24, 2023 and his statement under Section 50 of the PMLA was recorded thereafter. 17. In the authority in Prem Prakash (supra) the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that when an accused is in custody under PMLA irrespective of the case for which he is under custody, any statement under Section 50 of the PMLA to the same investigating agency is inadmissible against the maker for the reason that he cannot be considered as a person operating with a free mind. Therefore the statement of the petitioner recorded under Section 50 of the Act during his custody is inadmissible against him. However, in such statement, the petitioner has disclosed before the authority the commission received by him from promotional activities of various products of IX Global and information regarding the properties purchased out of the commission received. According to him, he was introduced to Joseph Martinez on whose proposal he agreed to join IX Global. He has disclosed the modus operandi of IX Global and has stated that....
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....or obtained as a result of that crime." 21. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has also observed that "the authority of the Authorised Officer under the 2002 Act to prosecute any person for offence of money-laundering gets triggered only if there exists proceeds of crime within the meaning of Section 2(1)(u) of the 2002 Act and further it is involved in any process or activity. Not even in a case of existence of undisclosed income and irrespective of its volume, the definition of "proceeds of crime" under Section 2(1)(u) will get attracted, unless the property has been derived or obtained as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence ....... Even though, the 2002 Act is a complete Code in itself, it is only in respect of matters connected with offence of money-laundering and for that, existence of proceeds of crime within the meaning of Section 2(1)(u) of the Act is quintessential. Absent existence of proceeds of crime, as aforesaid, the authorities under the 2002 Act cannot step in or initiate any prosecution." 22. Herein, the material on record does not prima facie connect the petitioner to opening of accounts or inducing investors to invest on the TP Global FX pl....