1. Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) provides that the Special Court may order to restore any property (ies)/assets found to be involved in money laundering to a third party claimant with legitimate interest, including banks.
2. Below is a summary of some key cases where the ED has applied the provisions as per law of ‘restitution of properties’ to facilitate deliverance of justice to the rightful claimants/owners:
| Sr. No. | Case Details | Quantum of Properties Restored (Rs. Crore) | Details of Restoration done by ED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vijay Mallaya Case | 14131.6 | Complete amount of attached properties have been successfully restored to the Public Sector Banks. | Economic Times Article dated 08.09.2024 |
| 2 | Nirav Modi Case | 1052.58 | Properties to the tune of Rs. 1052.58 Crore have been restored to the Public and Private Banks | |
| 3 | National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) | 17.47 | Property to the tune of Rs. 17.47 Crore has been restituted by ED through MPID to the genuine investors defrauded. | |
| 4 | SRS Group | 20.15 | On 14.08.2024, the Appellate Tribunal (PMLA) granted permission for restituting 78 flats worth more than Rs. 20 crore to the homebuyers of SRS group’s Pearl City and Prime projects in Gurugram. | Press Release dated 14.08.2024 |
| 5 | Rose Valley Group | 19.40 | Properties of Rs. 19.40 Crore have been restituted to the defrauded investors through Assets Disposal Committee (ADC). | Press Release dated 30.08.2024 |
| 6 | M/s. Surya Pharmaceutical Ltd. | 185.13 | Properties amounting to Rs. 185.13 Crore have been restored to the consortium of lending banks through the Official Liquidator under Section 8(7) of the PMLA. | Press Release dated 30.10.2024 |
| 7 | Mrs. Nowhera Shaik and Others (M/s. Heera Group) | 226 | The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 11.11.2024 has directed ED to auction two properties valued at Rs. 201 Crore to settle investors’ claims. Additionally, the Hon'ble Court has also directed the main accused person to deposit Rs. 25 Crore to the account of ED to restitute the amount to genuine defrauded investors. | Press Release dated 13.11.2024 |
| 8 | Naidu Amrutesh Reddy and Others | 12.73 | Hon’ble Special Court has allowed for the release of attached property in the case presently valued at Rs. 12.73 Crore. | Press Release dated 11.11.2024 |
| 9 | Mehul Choksi and Others | 2565.90 | To expedite the process of restitution of properties to the victim Banks, ED along with the Banks took proactive steps towards monetization of assets. The ED and Banks agreed to take a common stand and moved the Hon’ble Special PMLA Court, Mumbai for filing a Joint Application (consent application). The Hon’ble Court passed the order dated 10.09.2024 on the Joint Application wherein it was ordered that ED would facilitate the Banks, Liquidators in different Gitanjali Group of Companies to carry out valuation and auction of the attached or seized properties worth Rs. 2565 Crore and after auction of the said properties, the sale proceed amounts would be deposited in the PNB/ICICI Bank as FDs. | Press Release dated 10.12.2024 |
| 10 | M/s. Nafisa overseas and Others | 25.38 | Hon’ble Special Court has allowed for the restoration and release of attached properties in the case presently valued at Rs. 25.38 Crore. | Press Release dated 29.11.2024 |
| 11 | Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd. (BPSL) | 4025 | The Hon’ble Supreme Court ordered restitution of assets worth Rs. 4025 Crore to JSW vide order dated 11.12.2024. It is a bank fraud case wherein the creditor banks had initiated CIRP under IBC and JSW was the successful Resolution Applicant. ED filed an affidavit before the Hon’ble Supreme Court praying for the restitution of the attached properties worth Rs. 4025 Crore [covered under the CIRP] to JSW under second proviso to Section 8(8) of PMLA (restitution pending trial) read with Rule 3A of PMLA Restoration of Property Rules, which was approved by the Hon’ble Court. | Press Release dated 14.12.2024 |
3. In a remarkable achievement, the ED has successfully restored properties valued at approximately Rs. 22,280 Crore to victims or legitimate claimants. This achievement highlights the effective use of sections 8(7) and 8(8) of the PMLA, which allow for the restoration of assets to rightful owners when it is determined that the properties were initially acquired through illicit means but legaly belong to innocent parties.
4. Also focused efforts on priority are being made in all cases to identify the victims and/or legitimate claimants of money laundering offenses such that restitution of the proceeds of crime can be made to them. The Directorate of Enforcement is actively working to ensure that these rightful claimants receive due restitution by expeditious return of assets, thereby addressing the harms caused to the victims of illicit financial activities.