Tribunal Orders ED to Release ₹14 Crore in Assets Linked to Demonetisation Case
In a significant development, the PMLA Appellate Tribunal has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to release assets worth ₹14 crore that were attached in 2017. These assets were linked to the alleged money laundering following the demonetisation of ₹1,000 and ₹500 currency notes in 2016. The assets were seized from 15 bank lockers during an investigation into new currency notes found post-demonetisation.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) originally investigated the case involving Worldwide Oilfield Machine Pvt. Ltd and other entities accused of exchanging the outlawed currency with the help of bank officials. However, the Pune office of the CBI could not establish any wrongdoing and requested the special CBI court to close the case in 2019, which was subsequently accepted.
Further relief came from a designated Mumbai court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which discharged the private firm and its officials last August. The PMLA court acknowledged that no criminal activity related to the scheduled offence was evident, thus paving the way for the release of the attached assets as per the tribunal’s latest order.
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