Hyderabad: In a significant ruling, the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has held that properties can be attached as proceeds of crime even if they are held in the names of persons who are not accused in the underlying criminal case.The Tribunal dismissed appeals filed by former public servant Metta Appanna and five of his relatives, upholding the attachment of properties worth ₹58.5 lakh by the Enforcement Directorate. It rejected the contention that assets belonging to family members could not be attached merely because they were not named as accused in the Anti-Corruption Bureau case.The Tribunal observed that section 5(1) of the PMLA does not limit attachment proceedings to persons accused in the scheduled or predicate offence. It said proceeds of crime can be attached regardless of whose name the properties are held in, if they are linked to money laundering.Relying on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India, the Tribunal held that the law is designed to trace and attach proceeds of crime irrespective of the person holding them.The appellants contended that the properties were purchased from legitimate sources, including agricultural income and real estate commissions. However, the Tribunal found that they failed to produce convincing evidence to establish independent and lawful sources of funds.The case stems from a 2010 ACB FIR against Appanna, then an executive engineer with the erstwhile Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, alleging possession of disproportionate assets worth ₹84.88 lakh. Following the ACB chargesheet, the ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report in 2017, issued a provisional attachment order in 2018, and secured its confirmation from the Adjudicating Authority in 2019.The Tribunal also held that money laundering is a continuing offence and rejected the challenge against the alleged retrospective application of the law.
