Lokpal din overshadows Pranab's bill to tighten money-laundering act
28 Dec 2011
Seeking to show that it is serious about tracking illicit money stashed abroad, the government yesterday introduced a bill to strengthen the law against money laundering.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced the PMLA (Amendment) Bill 2011, which proposes some 10 amendments to the original Public Money Laundering Act – first passed in 2002, and amended twice subsequently.
Among the key changes proposed in the new bill is widening the ambit of what is defined as money laundering.
It also seeks to do away with the existing cap on penalties for violations, and provides for summary attachment and confiscation of property even if there is no conviction, "so long as it is proved that offence of money-laundering has taken place and property in question is involved in money-laundering".
The bill also brings company directors under its ambit and holds them as well as employees liable for failure to report violations.
The amended bill is urgent as India is a member of the international Financial Action Task Force and chairs its Asia Pacific group. It was necessary to bring the PMLA in line with advanced practices.
The bill proposes to introduce a corresponding law to link the provisions of Indian law with the laws of foreign countries and "provide for transfer of the proceeds of the foreign predicate offence in any manner in India".
Money-laundering is no longer restricted to the geo-political boundaries. "It is a global menace that cannot be contained by any nation alone," Mukherjee said while introducing the bill.
