The case pertains to the grant of regular bail to an Indian ...

Bail Granted: Court Finds No Prima Facie Evidence of Money Laundering in Crypto Theft Case, Citing Trial Delays.

September 20, 2024

Case Laws     Money Laundering     HC

The case pertains to the grant of regular bail to an Indian national accused of committing an offence under foreign law, which is a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The key points are: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated proceedings based on a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request from U.S. authorities, alleging that the accused stole cryptocurrencies and transferred the proceeds to India. The court examined the applicability of PMLA in cases where the predicate offence occurred outside India but the proceeds were transferred to India. The court held that for offences under the first category defined in Section 2(1)(ra)(i) of PMLA, where the predicate offence occurred outside India but the proceeds were transferred to India, the corresponding foreign law needs to be proved as a question of fact during the trial by examining experts. Judicial notice cannot be taken of the corresponding foreign law at this stage. The court found that the foundational facts, i.e., the alleged crime committed in the U.S. being a scheduled offence and the amount received by the accused being proceeds of crime, have not been established even prima facie. Therefore, the burden of proof u/s 45 of PMLA does not shift to the accused. The court observed that the delay in commencing the trial, the custody period exceeding.

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