911 PMLA Cases Filed During Last 5 Years

In a query, Surjewala asked the Finance Minister, seeking details about cases filed by the ED over the last five years. He also requested for the pending information on pending cases, revolved cases, and convictions in money laundering cases initiated by the ED.

The Congress leader also requested details on the number of operational special courts under the PMLA for handling money laundering trials nationwide.

In a written reply to Surjewala's question, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, presented the data on the total filed cases, pending cases, and convictions in money laundering cases.

A total of 911 PMLA cases were filed between January 1, 2019, and October 31, 2021, as per the Finance Ministry.

Sharing the Finance Ministry's response on X, Surjewala stated that the reply to his parliamentary query revealed three striking facts:

Over the past five years, the ED's conviction rate under the PMLA has remained below 5 percent. Out of 911 cases filed, only 42 (4.6 percent) have resulted in convictions.

Of these 911 cases, only 257 (28 percent) have progressed to the trial stage, while 654 (71.7 percent) remain pending for five years, exposing what he called a clear case of political witch-hunting.

During the last five years of the NDA government, 911 cases were filed, compared to just 102 cases during the entire decade of the UPA government—indicating a blatant misuse of the ED.