Under the Modi government, the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) actions against corruption have gained momentum. Since 2014, the ED has seized crores of rupees worth of assets that people had earned through corruption and in many cases, the amount has been returned to the victims or duped agencies. The ED has also achieved great success in getting convictions under the money laundering law in the past years. Some statistics regarding this have also come out.
95% property seized under the PMLA act was during Modi government’s tenure
According to a Hindustan Times report, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) implemented in 2005, the investigating agency ED has so far attached assets worth ₹ 1.45 lakh crore. In 2024 alone, the agency has attached assets worth more than ₹ 21 thousand crore.
Out of this ₹ 1.45 lakh crore, ₹ 1.40 lakh crore has been seized during the Modi government tenure. This means that 95% of the proceeds of corruption have been seized during the Modi government. Under PMLA, ED has not only seized properties, but has also succeeded in bringing people under the ambit of the law.
ED has convicted 100 people in 44 cases under PMLA so far. This action has gained momentum in the last one year. Out of 100, 36 people have been convicted in the first 9 months of Financial Year 2024-25. ED has arrested 911 people so far since the inception of the law.
The agency, which works on crimes related to financial matters, has been successful in nabbing big politicians, hawala operators, and even senior bureaucrats in the last few years. The working capacity of the agency has also increased in the last few years. It has got many new officers and employees. The agency has demanded that the capacity of its staff be increased three times further.
PMLA was implemented during the Congress government, but has been properly used by the Modi government
The PMLA law was formulated by the NDA-I government led by BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was passed by the Parliament in 2002. This law was made to stop money laundering, take back the property made from this money, and bring the culprits to justice.
The provisions of this law are very strict and the accused who fall foul of it cannot escape. It is also difficult to get bail under it. Before this law, there was no clear law regarding the money earned through corruption. In such a situation, people used to escape by finding loopholes in different laws.
However, after the new law, the powers of ED increased. The law was implemented by the Congress government in 2005. The Congress government also amended it twice. Under this law, some action was taken in the Congress government but there was no significant difference in the cases of corruption.
