ED pursuing 1,269 cases under existing money laundering laws

Of the 1,269 cases registered as on March 31, 2011, 11 cases fall under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, on account of their suspected connection with terrorist financing, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

"The number of money laundering cases registered by the Directorate of Enforcement under the PMLA has increased from 1,014 cases as on March 31, 2010, to 1,269 cases as on March 31, 2011, based on Scheduled Offences registered and reported by the concerned agencies," he said. He added that the government has taken comprehensive steps, like strengthening law enforcement and intelligence mechanisms and setting up a separate cell in the NIA, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in accordance with international standards and best practices.

"The government is proposing amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The proposed amendments are at a draft stage and are yet to be finalised," Palanimanickam said. He added that India is a member of the Financial Action Task Force, Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, the Eurasian group on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.