Data shows that compared to registered cases, the conviction rate is less than 1%. (File Photo/PTI)
The data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday was based on information received from the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Delhi topped the list with 90 arrests under PMLA. In 2024 alone, 36 people were arrested in the national capital, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
The government told Parliament on Tuesday that a total of 5,297 cases were registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from 2014 to 2024, of which only 40 resulted in convictions. Statistics show that compared to registered cases, the conviction rate is less than 1%.
The data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday was based on information received from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Numbers over the years
The data shows that 2021 and 2022 saw the highest number of cases registered under the PMLA: 1,166 and 1,074.
Starting in 2014, data shows that a total of 195 PMLAs were registered that year. However, not a single case resulted in an acquittal or conviction.
The following two years saw 148 and 170 cases registered, but still no acquittals or convictions.
In 2017, the number of cases increased to 171, with two people acquitted and three convicted that year. There were 146 new cases in 2018, but only two resulted in convictions.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in 2019, the number of registered cases rose to 188, of which 4 were convicted. In 2020, the number of cases reached a staggering 708, but only three resulted in convictions.
There was a peak in 2021, when 1,166 cases were registered, but only two resulted in convictions. In 2022, there were 1,074 cases and 8 convictions. In 2023, the number of registered cases dropped to 934 and the number of convictions was 9. So far in the 2024 election year, the number of registered cases is 397, including one acquittal and nine convictions.
Delhi has highest number of arrests
The number of arrests in Delhi is the highest since 2016, according to education directorate data shared by the home ministry.
Delhi topped the list with 90 arrests, followed by Maharashtra with 43 arrests. 42 people were arrested in West Bengal and 24 in Rajasthan.
States and Union Territories that have not arrested anyone under the MLA include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry.
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