ED initiated 6,444 cases since 2014; secured convictions in 53 out of 56 on merits: Govt

New Delhi: The Union Finance Ministry told the Lok Sabha on Monday that the Enforcement Directorate has initiated 6,444 money laundering investigations since 2014, with special courts securing convictions in 53 of the 56 cases that have been decided on merits. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary presented the figures while responding to a parliamentary question, noting that the convictions involved 121 accused individuals.

Chaudhary said special courts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act have delivered 56 merit-based judgments between April 1, 2014 and November 30, 2025. “Since 2014-15, the ED has recorded a total of 6,444 cases (ECIRs) for initiating investigation under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act,” he told the House. He added that courts had issued conviction orders in 53 of those 56 judgments, yielding a conviction rate of 94.64 percent. “Accordingly, the conviction rate, total number of cases in which the accused have been convicted as a percentage of total cases decided on merits on the issue of money laundering is 94.64 percent from April 1, 2014 to November 30,” he said.

The data showed a steady rise in money laundering investigations over the past decade, beginning with 181 cases in 2014-15 and reaching 556 cases until November 30 this year.

Annual figures included 110 cases in 2015-16, 187 in 2016-17, 163 in 2017-18, 152 in 2018-19, 557 in 2019-20, 996 in 2020-21, 1,116 in 2021-22, 953 in 2022-23, 698 in 2023-24 and 775 in 2024-25.

A similar increase was seen in the number of searches conducted by the agency. Chaudhary reported that ED operations rose from 46 searches in 2014-15 to 2,267 in the current financial year until November. The agency carried out 2,600 searches in 2023-24 and has undertaken 11,106 search and seizure operations nationwide during the past 11 years.

The minister also placed on record prosecution activity by the Income Tax Department, which filed 13,877 cases between 2014 and September 30 this year. Of these, 522 resulted in convictions, 963 led to acquittals and 3,345 were withdrawn. He clarified that outcomes are not directly linked to the number of cases filed each year because proceedings may conclude long after filing.