Abysmally low conviction rate of ED in PMLA cases in Jan-June period this year

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opened around 5,900 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) between January and June this year, but just eight of these have ended in convictions. The success ratio of the agency came down to a paltry 0.1 per cent, raising serious questions on the efficacy of the ED’s probe.

In reply to a question by Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told Parliament that only 15 people have been convicted until the first half of 2025.

Of the total complaints filed, the ED initiated prosecution in 1,398 cases—about 23 per cent of all investigations. This figure comprises 353 follow-up complaints. Charges were actually formulated by special PMLA courts as a formality in 300 of these cases, of which 66 were follow-up cases.

The agency also filed closure reports in 49 cases (about 0.8 per cent), reflecting insufficient evidence or a reason to pursue the case further.

The information is bound to spark renewed political controversy, particularly with the ED’s interventions becoming more and more focused on high-profile leaders of opposition parties like the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Trinamool Congress. A number of them have been arrested or had their assets confiscated for charges involving financial irregularities in a number of cases.

Opposition leaders have consistently accused the government of misusing the ED to silence dissent, employing the PMLA as an instrument of political repression. The abysmal conviction rate, they argue, underscores the paucity of credible evidence in a lot of cases and substantiates claims of selective targeting.