AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (2) TMI 1777
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....urance Policy No. C-100238510 4 Aashna Suri, C/o Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Surrender Value in TATA AIG Life Insurance Policy No. C-100238536 in the name of Aashna Suri, Daughter of Sumeet Suri 5 Rishabh Suri, C/o Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Balance in PPF account no. 10406308556 in SBI in the name of Sh. Rishabh Suri S/o Sumeet Suri 6 M/s Anjjane Clothing Company Pvt. Ltd., C/o Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Balance in SBI, Acc/no. 30342904684 in the name of M/s Anjjane Clothing Company Pvt. Ltd. 7 M/s Anjjane Clothing Company Pvt. Ltd., C/o Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Balance in SBI, Acc/no. 10406178365 in the name of M/s Anjjane Clothing Company Pvt. Ltd. 8 Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Balance in SBI, A/c No. 10406255194 in the name of Sh. Sumeet Suri 9 M/s Suri Developers (P) Ltd., C/o Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Balance in SBI, A/c No. 30601724122 in the name of Sh. Sumeet Suri 10 Sh. Sumeet Suri, R/o D-929, New Friends Colony, New Delhi Bal....
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.... the company by siphoning off its funds for his personal interest and gains in breach of trust and of fiduciary duties he owed towards the company being one of its Directors. By so doing, accused Sumeet Suri siphoned off more than Rs. 3 Crores of the company. The father of Aniljit Singh died in February, 2008. After the closure of accounting year on 31.03.2008, while going through the accounting reports, Aniljit Singh found huge outstanding from unknown creditors and finances to debtors. When Aniljit Singh confronted the accused Sumeet Suri, regarding details and nature of these entries Sumeet Suri offered to settle the same himself and also offered his resignation. As such, a memorandum of settlement was executed between the complainant, Aniljit Singh and accused Sumeet Suri. It was alleged that at that point of time, complainant fell to the ill designs of accused Sumeet Suri not knowing that the siphoned off amount is at least Rs. 3 crores of rupees and that the MOU was only a malafide design of the accused so that his frauds remained undetected. The said designs of the accused became apparent when the complainant later with the help of his auditors was able to detect huge system....
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....f Criminal Procedure Code is forwarded to the Magistrate. Accordingly, he argued that in absence of charge-sheet qua the scheduled offence, the attachment made by PAO and its subsequent confirmation needs to be set aside. He further contended that respondent ED wrongly added the maturing value of the policies and PPF account for attachment without appreciating the fact that the said investments were made by the appellant during the period from 1998 to 2005, whereas the alleged period of offence is confined to 2005 to 2009. Accordingly, he stressed that the said investments made by the appellants are not covered within the definition of proceeds of crime. He further pointed out that prosecution complaint was filed by ED in the month of June, 2018, and charges were also already framed by Ld. Special Judge, PMLA Court, but the said order of framing the charges is under challenge before Hon'ble High Court in Criminal Revision. He further pointed out that, in fact, the appellants have taken unsecured loans and the alleged allegation of siphoning is false and incorrect. Prayer is accordingly made to allow the present appeals and thereby set aside the impugned order passed by the....
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.... in the context of the prosecution under the PML Act. What would be relevant in the context of prosecution is the time of commission of the act of money laundering. The question would be, whether a person involved in money laundering as provided under Section 3 of the PML Act has indulged in the said act or not has to be decided by the competent authority. What is the date of laundering of money will have to be decided on facts of each case and there cannot be any prescribed straight jacket formula. This is an important fact which the authority will have to examine and it is a mixed question of law and fact. 78. A person acquiring assets through illegal means who comes before the society and claims that said money was acquired by proper means, then he would be guilty of the offence of money laundering. A person might have committed an offence long back and the proceeds of it is being placed, layered or sought to be integrated to the main stream of economy, then also, he is said to have committed the offence of money laundering. Incorporation of certain offences in the Schedule is to bring it within the net of PML Act namely, proceeds of that crime within the provisions of ....
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.... or being party to the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime; and such process or activity in a given fact situation may be a continuing offence, irrespective of the date and time of commission of the scheduled offence. In other words, the criminal activity may have been committed before the same had been notified as scheduled offence for the purpose of the 2002 Act, but if a person has indulged in or continues to indulge directly or indirectly in dealing with proceeds of crime, derived or obtained from such criminal activity even after it has been notified as scheduled offence, may be liable to be prosecuted for offence of money-laundering under the 2002 Act -- for continuing to possess or conceal the proceeds of crime (fully or in part) or retaining possession thereof or uses it in trenches until fully exhausted. The offence of money-laundering is not dependent on or linked to the date on which the scheduled offence or if we may say so the predicate offence has been committed. The relevant date is the date on which the person indulges in the process or activity connected with such proceeds of crime. These ingredients are intrinsic in the original provision (Sec....
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.... the Act may not be completely immune from action under the Act in light of what this Court had held in Axis Bank. As was explained by the Court in Axis Bank, the expression proceeds of crime envisages both -tainted property as well as "untainted property" with it being permissible to proceed against the latter provided it is being attached as equal to the "value of any such property" or "property equivalent in value held within``` the country or abroad". However, both the italicised categories would be liable to be invoked in cases where the actual tainted property cannot be traced or found out. It is only where the respondents are unable to discover the tainted property that they can take the statutory recourse to move against properties which may fall within the ambit of -value of any such property or "property equivalent in value held within the country or abroad". To the aforesaid limited extent, properties purchased prior to 01 July 2005 may also become vulnerable and subject to action under the Act. However, enforcement action against such properties would have to satisfy the tests and safeguards as propounded in Axis Bank with the learned Judge observing that in such a situ....
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....th the appellant rather vanished and siphoned off, the property of equivalent value has been attached. The proceeds were siphoned off by diverting it to various group companies and by layering the proceeds. In the light of the aforesaid, second limb of the definition of "proceeds of crime" has been applied to attach the property of equivalent value. Thus, the first ground raised by the appellant cannot be accepted. In the light of the above, I find no force in the argument when the proceeds out of crime was not available with the appellant rather vanished and siphoned off, the property of equivalent value has been attached. In the light of the aforesaid, second limb of the definition of "proceeds of crime" has been applied to attach the property of equivalent value. Thus, this ground raised by the appellants cannot be accepted. The third issue/contention of the appellants is that they have not committed any fraud to obtain unsecured loans is also devoid of any merits in absence of execution of any documents in this regard coupled with the board resolution. The fourth issue raised by the appellants is that ED failed to appreciate the fact that no order of attachment shall b....