New Delhi: India has significantly ramped up its efforts to combat black money and money laundering over the past nine years, as detailed in a report to Parliament on Tuesday. The government has launched 163 investigations and issued assessment orders in 652 cases under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, raising a demand of ₹17,162 crore.

Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, provided these figures in a written response to the Rajya Sabha. He noted that, as of March 31, 2024, the government had passed orders under sections 10(3) and 10(4) of the Act, resulting in the aforementioned demand, and initiated 163 prosecutions. The minister also highlighted that, from 2019-20 to 2023-24, 109 of these prosecutions were launched.

The Black Money Act, introduced by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in July 2015, aims to tackle black money stashed abroad and the evasion of taxes related to such assets. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was also established to address this issue. The law provided a one-time opportunity for individuals to disclose undisclosed foreign assets. During the three-month compliance window from July 1 to September 30, 2015, 648 disclosures involving assets worth ₹4,164 crore were made, leading to tax and penalty collections totaling approximately ₹2,476 crore.

In addition, Chaudhary provided an update on money laundering investigations conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). As of July 31, 2024, the ED had filed 7,083 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and attached properties worth ₹1.31 lakh crore. Between January 1, 2019, and July 31, 2024, 4,467 PMLA cases were registered, and charge sheets were filed in 831 of these cases. The ED has also filed charge sheets against 1,519 companies under PMLA since January 1, 2019.

The PMLA, enacted in 2002 and implemented on July 1, 2005, grants the ED substantial powers to record statements and use them to file charge sheets, playing a crucial role in the fight against financial crimes.

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