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TMI Blog2024 (12) TMI 680X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thority filed complaint under Section 44 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 on the file of the Special Court constituted under Section 43(1) of the Act against the revision petitioners herein for having committed the offence of money laundering. The Special Court took cognizance of the complaint in C.C No.11 of 2018. 3.The case of the complainant is as follows : M/s.Deepa Impex India Private Limited was granted lease to quarry minor minerals in Melur in the year 1989. K.C.Chandran and his wife C.Chandra are directors of the said company. They entered into criminal conspiracy and illegally quarried granite stones from the nearby lands and non-lease patta lands and transported more minerals than permit obtained quantity. The aut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s. 261.89 crores. Out of this unlawfully generated income, properties have been purchased. One such property is covered under Doc No.1526 of 2010 registered on the file of the SRO, Periamet. The revision petitioners have projected the said property as an untainted property. This property has been attached under Section 8(3) of the Act. The revision petitioners filed Crl MP No.1371 of 2022 under Section 227 of Cr.Pc for discharging them from this case. The discharge petition was dismissed vide order dated 19.03.2024. Challenging the same, this revision petition has been filed. 4.The learned counsel for the revision petitioners submitted that though license was obtained in 1989 for quarrying mines, the quarry itself was handed over to one P. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inst the revision petitioners herein. He pressed for discharge of the revision petitioners from the case. 6.The complainant has filed a detailed counter affidavit and the learned Additional Solicitor General of India took us through its contents. He submitted that at the stage of discharge, the defence of the revision petitioners cannot be considered. He pointed out that the petitioners herein as lease holders could not have entered into any transaction with Mr.P.R.Palanichamy for handing over the quarry. He added that the sale consideration set out in the sale deed dated 22.07.2010 does not reflect the actual market value. The guideline value during the relevant time was more than one crore. He strongly contended that the court below righ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erty bearing Door No.2, Aspiran Garden Colony, 2nd Street, Kilpauk,Chennai was purchased under sale deed dated 22.07.2010 vide D.No.1526 of 2010 on the file of the SRO, Periamet. The said property was also attached and the same was also confirmed by the adjudicating authority. 8.The learned counsel for the petitioners contended that the transaction in respect of this property dates back to 1992 when the sale agreement was entered into between the first petitioner and M/s.T.T.G Industries Limited though the sale deed was executed only in the year 2010. This contention is bereft of merit. The offence of money laundering is a continuing offence. Explanation (ii) to Section 3 of the Act makes it clear that the process or activity connected wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s that a person shall be guilty of the offence of money laundering, if such person is involved in concealment of the proceeds of crime. When concealment of the proceeds of crime itself would constitute the offence of money laundering, it cannot be contended that unless the proceeds of crime are identified, the complaint will not lie. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the decision reported in (2023) 4 SCC 357 (Rana Ayyub v. Directorate of Enforcement) observed as follows : "19. The word "money-laundering" is defined in Section 2(1)(p) of the Act to have the same meaning as assigned to it in Section 3. Section 3 of the Act makes a person guilty of the offence of money-laundering, if he : (i) directly or indirectly attempts to indulge; or (ii ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ess or activity in connection with the proceeds of crime. If by a Houdini trick, they vanish thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate need not establish the money trail. Since concealment of the proceeds of crime is an offence, the accused can be held guilty of the same. The Enforcement Directorate need not demonstrate where the money eventually went. The accused after engineering a disappearing act cannot be heard to contend that they must be exonerated because proceeds of crime has not been identified. If a rat has escaped into a hole, one can only point to the hole. The rat might even have exited through another end. The defence cannot argue that unless the rat is found, there cannot be a prosecution. 10.According to the revision petitio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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