94.82% conviction rate in ED’s money laundering cases, govt tells Parliament

THe strong belief value in the Enforcement board of directors (ED)’s cases below the bar of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is 94.82%, with courts delivering judgements in 58 cases to date, and 55 of them resulting in the conviction of 123 accused, the government told Parliament on Tuesday. Forty-three of 104 accused persons were convicted in the 55 cases in the last five years, it said.“As of December 31, 2025, the special courts of PMLA have delivered judgments, on merits, on the issue of money-laundering in 58 cases, out of which conviction orders have been passed in 55 cases convicting 123 accused. Accordingly, the conviction rate, ie, total number of cases in which accused have been convicted as a percentage of total cases decided on merits on the issue of money laundering is 55/58*100=94.82%,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in Rajya Sabha in response to Samajwadi Party member Ramji Lal Suman’s question.“ED has secured convictions in 43 cases since 2020-21, wherein 104 accused have been convicted under the provisions of PMLA.”Chaudhary said the ED has registered 8,391 cases since PMLA was enacted in 2002. He added that it has filed 1,960 prosecution complaints (charge sheets) and closed 1,278 investigations.In response to Suman’s query on delays in ED investigations, Chaudhary said that the agency follows a multi-pronged approach in registering a case based on money-laundering risks and threats and by examining information received through several sources.“After completion of investigations, a prosecution complaint is filed before the special court. Efforts have been made to fast-track investigations and conclude cases efficiently through the enhanced use of technology, which includes optimum use of national and international databases, forensic tools, artificial intelligence, OSINT [open-source Intelligence] techniques, and digital resources to strengthen evidence collection, improve analytical capabilities, and expedite complex financial crime investigations.”HT in October 2025 reported that the ED has realigned its strategy by focusing more on its core work—attaching the proceeds of crime so that the offenders cannot enjoy them. The federal financial crimes probe agency attached properties worth a record ₹30,000 crore in FY 2024-25. It has crossed the ₹18,000 crore attachment figure so far in 2025-26. Officials said the numbers could go even higher this year. The ED has since 2005 attached assets worth ₹1.75 lakh crore.