2 months ago
2
DMK Rajya Sabha subordinate R. Girirajan has filed 9 writ petitions earlier the Madras High Court seeking a absorption to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to registry wealth laundering cases against AIADMK leaders S.P. Velumani, C. Vijayabaskar, M.R. Vijayabaskar, P. Thangamani, R. Kamaraj, K.P. Anbalagan, and K.C. Veeramani connected the ground of corruption cases pending against them.
The petitioner has besides sought the registration of Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIR) for offences nether the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against 2 others, namely erstwhile MLA ‘T. Nagar’ Sathya alias B. Sathyanarayanan and erstwhile president of Salem territory cardinal cooperative slope R. Elangovan of the AIADMK. He said each of them were facing cases registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).
Since each those DVAC cases had been registered nether the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) of 1988 involving tainted wealth and they represent the predicate/scheduled offence for which the ED could publication cases nether the PMLA, the petitioner insisted that the cardinal bureau indispensable needfully beryllium directed to registry idiosyncratic ECIRs and analyse whether the wealth progressive successful each those corruption cases had been laundered.
The amerciable gains generated done the corruption cases, booked by the DVAC, intelligibly autumn nether the explanation of the word ‘proceeds of crime’ arsenic defined nether Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA. And wherever proceeds of transgression had been generated from scheduled offences, the ED was empowered to registry a ECIR to analyse the offence of wealth laundering too tracing, attaching, and confiscating the tainted assets, the petitioner said.
Further, stating that the DVAC uploads each FIRs registered by it connected its website to guarantee transparency, the petitioner said, the FIRs registered against the AIADMK leaders, too, were disposable successful the nationalist domain and they intelligibly disclose the alleged committee of offences nether the PCA. He besides said, the Supreme Court successful Y. Balaji versus Karthik Desai (2024) had impressed upon the request for ED to registry ECIRs successful specified cases.
“Acquisition is an enactment amounting to wealth laundering and the amerciable gratification acquired by a nationalist servant represents ‘proceeds of crime,’ generated done a transgression enactment successful respect of a scheduled offence. Therefore, it does not necessitate immoderate expedition, overmuch little a sportfishing expedition for idiosyncratic to accidental that the receipt of bribe wealth is an enactment of wealth laundering,” the Supreme Court had observed.
In presumption of the binding determination of the Supreme Court, the ED was duty-bound to registry ECIRs against each 9 individuals, the petitioner said.
