Sravasti Dasgupta 
New Delhi: A total of 5,297 cases have been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) since 2014, with cases recording a rise after 2019, when the centre brought in key amendments to the law making it more stringent.
On Tuesday (August 6), in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, MoS Home Nityanand Rai in response to a question by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi presented data for cases registered under PMLA from 2014 to 2024 as per information received from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A total of 5,297 cases have been registered under the PMLA from 2014 to 2024, while only 40 cases have seen convictions and 3 acquitted, the data shows.
The PMLA was enacted in 2002 (under the then BJP government) to tackle black money generated through international drug trafficking. However, amendments to the law in 2012 (under the UPA government) and 2019 (under the Modi government) have significantly widened the scope of the law, with new schedule offences that have been added (against the original 40 offences under six laws, now there are 140 offences under 30 laws).
In 2019 a total of 188 cases were registered under the PMLA, which rose to 708 in 2020, 1166 in 2021, 1074 in 2022, 934 in 2023 and 397 in 2024.
In comparison, a total of 195 cases were registered in 2014, 148 in 2015, 170 in 2016, 146 in 2018.
The data also showed that the total number of accused presently under arrest under the provisions of PMLA from 2016 to 2024 has risen sharply from 2021. A total of 31 accused were under arrest in 2021, which rose to 53 in 2022,139 in 2023 and 140 in 2024.
Among states, the total number of accused presently under arrest is the highest in Delhi. While 8 people were under arrest under PMLA in 2021, this rose to 12 in 2022, 32 in 2023 and 36 in 2024.
Jharkhand too has seen a rise among states, rising from 3 in 2021 to 7 in 2022, 22 in 2023 and 18 in 2024.
In the same reply, Rai has provided data for cases registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) from 2014 to 2024.
Data shows that a total of 8,719 cases have been registered under the UAPA, 567 have been acquitted while 222 have been convicted.