New Delhi:
Properties worth Rs 14,131 crore – that once belonged to Vijay Mallya – have been seized and handed to public and private sector banks to pay off a part of the fugitive businessman’s substantial debts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament Tuesday.
Ms Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha the Enforcement Directorate had, in total, restored properties worth Rs 22,280 crore to pay back debts of wanted individuals like Mr Mallya, Mehul Choksi, and Nirav Modi, and that the fight against economic offenders is set to continue.
The restored sum includes Rs 1,052 crore from Mr Modi and Rs 2,565 crore from Mr Choksi. A sum of Rs 17.5 crore in the National Spot Exchange Ltd, or NSEL, case was also restored.
“In money laundering cases, the ED has successfully restored properties valued at Rs 22,280 crore… we have not left anyone. Even if they fled the country, we have gone after them.”
“… it is important to recognise we have not left (out) anybody. We will make sure the money… which has to go back to banks… will go back,” Ms Sitharaman declared.
The Finance Minister’s staunch defence of the federal agency follows question marks last week over its conviction rate; that low figure – less than five per cent over the past five years – provided Congress leader Randeep Surjewala with ammunition to attack the government in Parliament.
In response to a question asked in the House, Mr Surjewala was told the ED had filed over 900 cases under the strict Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, from 2019 to 2023.
Of these, only 42, or 4.6 per cent, have resulted in conviction.
This, the Congress leader claimed, was proof of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s “witch hunt” against opposition leaders; the opposition has routinely accused the BJP of using federal agencies like the ED to file false charges against rival parties and politicians to silence them.
The low conviction rate was also flagged by the Supreme Court in August; the top court reprimanded the ED, saying, “You (the agency) needs to look at the quality of prosecution.”
Meanwhile, with regard to tracking down and bringing back ‘black money’, or funds illegally acquired and parked abroad, Ms Sitharaman said the Black Money Act (2015) has had a positive impact on taxpayers and Indian citizens disclosing foreign assets. She said the number of taxpayers disclosing such had gone up to two lakh in 2024/25, from 60,467 in 2021/22.
And, under that law, as of June this year, nearly 700 cases had been filed – and 163 prosecutions initiated – to bring back over Rs 17,000 crore. This, the Finance Minister, said, includes investigations into widely publicised cases like the Panama, Paradise, and Pandora leaks.
A multi-agency group is conducting a detailed investigation into these cases, she said.
Ms Sitharaman’s answers in Parliament this week also follow a sit-down last month between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil. Mr Modi urged Mr Starmer to expedite the extradition of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. India is also trying to extradite Sanjay Bhandari, an accused in illegal arms deals.
Vijay Mallya is the primary accused in a bank loan default case and fled India in 2016, while Nirav Modi is wanted by Indian authorities for defrauding the Punjab National Bank.
With input from agencies
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