Press Release

Anti-money laundering efforts will be accelerated by new AI tools and legislation from the government says Justice Shri M N Bhandari

12th  November 2022, New Delhi: Solving the Issue of money laundering has become an international effort and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is a tool for active enforcement to fight against this criminal offence according to Hon’ble Justice Shri M N Bhandari, Chairman, Appellate Tribunal, PMLA, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance Government of India who spoke at ASSOCHAM 2nd India International Conference on Money Laundering and Collective Response.  

Chief Guest, Justice M N Bhandari, noted that combating the issue of money laundering continues to be a major task for all countries and financial institutions in the world. Administrative stability and economic stability are harmed by financial crimes. The Indian government has taken a number of actions in the past to stop money laundering, Justice Bhandari added stating that, "these steps are intended to prevent financial crimes and to ensure that the administrative and economic stability of the country is maintained." 

Guest of Honor, Justice Yashwant Varma Judge, Delhi High Court shared his perspectives on the theme and said, “Money Laundering is an economical and financial menace and needs to be eliminated with the collective response from stakeholders''. They pose immense challenges in terms of income disparities, conflicts between rich and poor, developed and underdeveloped and therefore financial intelligence units have created anti-money laundering standards. ''With the advent of growing tech, it becomes challenging to monitor digital transactions therefore cross border monitoring is required'', he noted.   

Speaking at the conference CA & Advocate Ashwani Taneja, Former Member of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal said that money laundering is a worldwide concern and the measure to tackle the issue should be achieved for a better sense. He further noted that the twin fold challenge of wrong doer should be tackled and victim to be supported. “Say no to black money for the collective wisdom of the country”, he advised. He also spoke about the challenges that third party victim face after attachment of the property 

Mr. Basudev Mukherjee Assistant Secretary General, ASSOCHAM gave his welcome address and highlighted the increasing incidences in money laundering which is a threat to society and nation. He suggested that the illegally gained proceeds should be regulated and there is a scope of strengthening the judiciary, he said.  

Mr. Hemant Sahai Chairperson, ASSOCHAM National Council for Legal Affairs and Regulatory Reforms in his opening remarks said PMLA is relevant to each of us as issues pertaining to money laundering are increasing in life. PMLA is essential for India in terms of economic and financial interest for the core of the nation's integrity.  

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Ashutosh Khaitan, Co-Chairman, National Council for Legal Affairs and Regulatory Reforms, emphasized the delicate nature of the subject and the need to follow the prevention, detection, and investigation processes. He went on to remark that to get comprehensive solutions, the enforcement should be filtered.