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Examining Money Laundering Practices through a Legal Perspective: Scrutiny under the ED's Oversight

Authors

  • Dr. Narender Kumar

    Associate Professor, Apex School of Law, Apex University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
    Author

Keywords:

Money Laundering, Enforcement Directorate, cryptocurrencies, legal framework, FATF

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss money laundering in detail concerning India and more so the Enforcement Directorate. Through writing this paper, shall outline the origin and history of money laundering, the law governing money laundering, and especially the ED’s function in the fight against financial crime under the application of the PMLA 2002 here in Kenya. Analysing India’s legal system in a comparative way to other countries, this paper also focuses on concrete examples of the 2G Spectrum Scam, the Vijay Malya case, and the Nirav Modi case. These investigations show the important role of the ED in tracking, preventing, and seizing the proceeds of crime while handling legal and ethical issues. The paper also previews criticisms of other draconian powers vested in the ED which include powers of arrest, and the ability to freeze assets without a proper procedure with the argument of ‘deterring abuse’ of the legal system and misuse of the official’s power. In addition, this study examines various operational challenges affecting the ED, for example, poor resource allocation, emergence of new financial risks for instance digital money, and political influence. When compared with global AML practices, the problems call for legal changes in India, better cooperation with other countries, and greater transparency of ED activities. Finally, the paper provides suggestions for enhancing the flow of the ED and the framework to mitigate financial crime in India for better compliance with international standards and to combat new-age money laundering challenges effectively.

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Published

31-12-2024

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Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024): Volume 1, Issue1 International Journal for Public Policy, Law and Development

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Examining Money Laundering Practices through a Legal Perspective: Scrutiny under the ED’s Oversight. (2024). International Journal for Public Policy, Law and Development, 1(1), 22-31. https://ijpld.com/ijpld/article/view/4