ED restored ₹14,131 cr assets attached from Vijay Mallya to banks: FM

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has restored properties valued at least ₹22,280 crore to the Indian banking system, including ₹14,131.6 crore attached from fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya and ₹1,052.58 crore from Nirav Modi. Both Mallya and Modi fled India in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

“On the PMLA, ED has successfully restored properties valued at least ₹22,280 crore and I am only talking about the major cases. I would like to list the cases. In Vijay Mallya case, ₹14,131.6 crore - the complete amount of the attached property - has been restored to the public sector banks. In Nirav Modi's case, ₹1,052.58 crore resorted to private and public sector banks. In NSEL case, ₹17.47 crore was obtained and has been given to the banks,” Sitharaman said in her reply on the first supplementary demand for grants.

Sitharaman said the government has taken multiple steps on black money. Action has been taken on many unaccounted and undisclosed foreign assets. Sitharaman said the government constituted an SIT on black money, which is working since 2014. “Meetings of the SIT are regularly taking place and action taken report is also reviewed particularly in cases involving undisclosed foreign assets and incomes are really being monitored,” she said.

Sitharaman said the government enacted the Black Money Act in 2015. The government enacted a comprehensive and stringent new law namely the Black Money Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets and Imposition of Tax Act 2015. The salient features of this Black Money Act is that 30% tax is imposed on any undisclosed foreign income or assets and penalty of 90% is imposed for failure to furnish returns or undisclosed or inaccurate details of foreign assets.

On the proceedings under the Black Money Act, Finance Minister said, “As of June 2024, demand of more than ₹17,520 crore has been raised in 697 cases. 163 prosecutions have been launched. Number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets were 60,467 in 2021-22. It is 2 lakh tax payers in 2024-25. The Black Money Act is having a lot of deterrent effect on many tax payers. Today they come forward on their own to disclose their foreign assets.”

“Total tax collected under the Black Money Act is ₹2,655 crore as of June 2024. Demand worth ₹17,520 crore has been raised. Penalty worth ₹9,971.47 crore has been levied in 341 cases and prosecution has been launched 163. Number of cases where assessment is pending is 531 and those where penalty initiated and pending is 532. These are the actual figures to show that the PMLA and Black Money Act are giving their due returns,” she added.