more-inIndia will have to make money laundering an explicitly standalone offence to upgrade its compliance ahead of the on-site mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is due in November-December 2020. Among the key recommendations of the FATF, an international body that sets global standards for fighting illicit finance, is that money laundering be made a standalone offence. Despite several amendments, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) remains a predicate-offence-oriented law. The latest instances are the verdicts in the 2G spectrum and Aircel-Maxis cases by the CBI courts, in which the money laundering angle probed by the Enforcement Directorate fell apart. Karnataka caseOn the issue of attachment of assets, however, the Karnataka High Court, in a 2016 judgment, appreciated the agency’s stand that money laundering was a standalone offence in view of Sections 5 and 8 amended in 2013, read with the definition of ‘property’ in Section 2(1)(v) of the Act.

Source: The Hindu April 15, 2018 16:24 UTC