The Indian government has, in clear terms of intent, reached new heights with its endeavors to recover money from high-profile economic offenders. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced major property seizures and investigations aimed at bringing fugitive businessmen to justice on Monday by ED.
Sitharaman said properties worth Rs 14,131 crore belonging to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya have been attached and shifted to public and private sector banks. This move is part of a strategy to recover gigantic debts and send a tough message to economic offenders by making it clear that they will not be given an escape route.
ED faced Criticism Over Low Conviction Rate
The Enforcement Directorate has done a good job in terms of the recovery of properties. Altogether, it has recovered Rs 22,280 crore from the wanted persons, including Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi. If broken down, the ministry revealed recoveries of Rs 1,052 crore from Modi and Rs 2,565 crore from Choksi, which indicates a holistic approach to tracking and recovering illegally acquired assets.
While accomplishing all this, the ED faced criticism for its relatively lower rate of conviction. Official figures presented in Parliament report that the agency has filed over 900 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act between 2019 and 2023, but had convictions in only 42 cases – a mere 4.6%. Low success rates have drawn stinging criticism from the opposition. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said there was a risk of a “witch hunt”.
The Supreme Court did not stay silent in this matter. In August, it rebuked ED and requested an improvement in the quality of prosecutions. This judicial oversight further pressures the agency to improve its investigation and legal procedures.
Crackdown on Black Money Intensifies
Reports by the government are full of promises on the bigger platform of combating black money. According to reports, the Black Money Act 2015 apparently spurred greater transparency, and now the number of taxpayers declaring foreign assets has risen from 60,467 in 2021/22 to two lakh in 2024/25. The department has filed almost 700 cases and started prosecution in 163 in an attempt to recover more than Rs 17,000 crore.
Diplomatic pressure: The push by the government is also complemented by a diplomatic one. In a recent G20 Summit meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to speed up the extradition of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. Mallya had left India in 2016 as the principal accused in a case of bank loan default, whereas Modi is wanted for cheating Punjab National Bank.
It represents all-rounded efforts toward the tracking of illicit financial flows, through a comprehensive investigation led by a multi-agency team into the exposures that have resulted from international leaks like Panama, Paradise, and Pandora papers.
Sitharaman’s assertion captures the resolve of the government: “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.” The words seem to indicate that the economic offenders can anticipate further pursuit no matter how much they run from the law.
