On 3rd February (Tuesday), the central government informed that the Enforcement Directorate has secured convictions in about 95% of cases that were judged on their merits, reported NDTV. Furthermore, the agency filed over 5,100 money laundering charges during the last 5 years.
The disclosure was made in the Parliament in response to a query from Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman. Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary conveyed that 5,158 matters were registered by the ED for inquiry under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 between 2020–2021 and December of 2025. However, it does not possess state-specific data.
According to the year-by-year breakdown, 1,116 Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) were submitted in 2021–2022 followed by 996 cases in 2020–2021. After declining to 698 in 2023–2024, the figures rose once more to 775 in 2024–2025. 620 cases have been confirmed till December in the current fiscal year.
As of 31st December, 8,391 ECIRs had been recorded by the agency since PMLA’s introduction. 1,960 cases have been brought before special PMLA courts with prosecution complaints requesting conviction and the seizure of criminal proceeds.
According to the government, special courts have rendered decisions based on merit in 58 money laundering cases thus far, leading to convictions in 55 with 123 of the accused found guilty. This resulted in a conviction percentage of 94.82% in merit-based cases. The ED obtained convictions in 43 cases in 2020–2021 and 104 defendants were deemed culpable in accordance with PMLA rules. Over time, the number of convictions has risen progressively reaching a record high in 2023–2024.
The minister also reacted to concerns raised about delay and outlined that the ED employs a multifaceted strategy based on risk assessment and detaila from several sources. In order to increase productivity and expedite intricate financial crime investigations, the procedures are being accelerated by improved use of technology, such as artificial intelligence, forensic tools, multinational databases and open-source information.
