193 ED Cases against MPs, MLAs and Political Leaders

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Shiri Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to a question asked in Lok Sabha, said, “193 ED Cases registered against MPs, MLAs and Political Leaders.”

The Minister Shri A. A. Rahim asked the following questions:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state-

(a) the number of ED cases registered against MPs and MLAs and local administration members in the last ten years, along with their party, State-wise and year-wise;

(b) the number of cases that have led to convictions, acquittals, and those still under investigation, year-wise;

(c) whether there has been an increase in ED cases filed against opposition leaders in recent years, and if so, the justification for this trend; and

(d) whether Government has undertaken any reforms to improve the transparency and efficiency of ED investigations, and if so, the details thereof?

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Shiri Pankaj Chaudhary replied:

(a) The data of ED cases registered against MPs, MLAs and local administrators along with their party, state-wise is not maintained. However, the year-wise details of cases against existing and Ex MPs, MLAs, MLCs and political leaders or anyone affiliated with any political party during the last 10 years is as under:

(b) Out of the above, the number of cases that have led to conviction and acquittal on merit are as under:

(c) No such information is maintained.

(d) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a premier law enforcement agency of the Government of India which has been entrusted with the administration and enforcement of Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA). ED takes up the cases for investigation based on credible evidence/material and does not distinguish cases based on political affiliations, religion or otherwise. Further, the actions of ED are always open to judicial review. The agency is accountable to different judicial forums viz. Adjudicating Authority, Appellate Tribunal, Special Courts, Hon’ble High Court and Hon’ble Supreme Court for the actions taken in the course of implementation of the PMLA, 2002; FEMA, 1999 and FEOA, 2018.