The Tribunal set aside the freezing of bank accounts and seizure of assets under PMLA, ruling that the Enforcement Directorate’s failure to provide the fundamental FIR documents violated statutory procedure. The key takeaway is that FIRs are essential Relied Upon Documents for PMLA proceedings and their non-supply vitiates the entire adjudication order.
The Appellate Tribunal upheld the attachment of two plots of land, ruling the cash-paid transactions were benami because the appellant failed to prove the source of consideration. The ruling confirmed that the funds were provided by an unidentified person, satisfying the test under PBPTA Section 2(9)(D).
The legal issue was whether property acquired before the predicate offense date can be attached as a value-equivalent under PMLA. The Tribunal confirmed the attachment, ruling that pre-offence property can be attached to secure the vanished proceeds of crime. Key Takeaway: PMLA’s definition of proceeds of crime includes equivalent value property, overriding the acquisition timeline when actual proceeds are untraceable.
The Appellate Tribunal set aside the Adjudicating Authority’s revocation and confirmed the benami attachment on a ₹9.5 lakh transaction that occurred during demonetisation. The transaction was found to be an accommodation entry where cash was deposited into an account and immediately transferred to a firm against commission.
The Appellate Tribunal confirmed the attachment of multiple properties linked to an NDPS convict, rejecting the spouse’s claims of legitimate acquisition. The ruling emphasized that unverified cash gifts and loans, and mere ITR filings, are insufficient to rebut the statutory presumption under Section 68J of the NDPS Act.
The Tribunal found the ED’s delayed prosecution complaint timely in view of the pandemic-related exclusion of limitation. It confirmed the attachment of Karti Chidambaram’s Jor Bagh property and bank accounts, rejecting claims of lapse under Section 8(3)(a).
ITAT ruled that the sale of a commercial property after six years due to prolonged vacancy and financial pressure is a capital transaction, not an adventure in trade. The income must be assessed as Long-Term Capital Gains.
The Appellate Tribunal confirmed the attachment of 511 properties valued at Rs.96.05 crore, ruling they were proceeds from illegal granite mining. The judgment reaffirmed that money-laundering is a continuing offense, validating the attachment even for assets acquired before the PMLA came into force.
Finding procedural lapses in document disclosure, the Tribunal invalidated the ED’s order retaining ₹5.75 lakh seized from Gurudev Jewellers. It reaffirmed that all relied-upon documents must be provided to affected parties to ensure fair adjudication.
The Tribunal confirmed that a benami transaction occurred when ₹43.5 lakh of unaccounted cash was routed through a third-party firm as an accommodation entry. However, due to inconsistent evidence regarding the link between this benami cash and the attached property, the case was remanded for a new adjudication.
