The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002

• The PMLA was enacted by India’s Parliament under Article 253 which empowers it to make laws for implementing the international conventions.

• India, adopted and signed the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (the Vienna Convention) in 1988.

• The Convention was the first international instrument that squarely addressed the issue of money laundering.

• The Act seeks to combat money laundering in India and has three main objectives:

• to prevent and control money laundering

• to confiscate and seize the property obtained from the laundered money

• to deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India.

• The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is responsible for investigating offences under the PMLA. 

• The Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) is the national agency that receives, processes, analyses and disseminates information related to suspect financial transactions.

• The ED registers an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in cases under PMLA.

Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) 

• It is similar to FIR (First Information Report) registered in criminal cases.

• It is mandatory under CRPC to provide a copy of FIR to the accused whereas ECIR is not mandatory to be shared with the accused.

• This is because ECIR is an internal document and contains details of the material seized and if revealed during the stage of investigation may impact the outcome.