Sitharaman lauds ED’s efforts in recovering assets from Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi

Indian finance minister Sitharaman said that the total assets worth Rs 22,280 crore have been recovered and returned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to public and private banks and deceived investors. This shows the determination of the government in tackling financial crimes and misdirected money.

In Lok Sabha’s discussion over Supplementary Demands for Grants, Sitharaman called up the ED’s work opening, blaming no one and saying, “We haven’t spared anyone, even those who fled the country. The ED has worked to ensure that money rightfully belonging to banks and investors is recovered and returned.”

Among the high-profile cases, the ED has seized assets worth:

>Rs 14,131.6 crore from the fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, which has been returned to the public sector banks.

>Rs 1,052.58 crore from Nirav Modi, which was given to public and private banks.

>Rs. 2,565.90 crore from Mehul Choksi, plans to auction these assets. 

>In addition, assets of Rs 17.47 crore recovered from the NSEL scam have been returned to defrauded investors.

Sitharaman, giving the last word on the government’s position, said, “We are after them. We will ensure that stolen assets are recovered and returned to their rightful owners, including banks and investors.”

The Black Money Act passed in 2015 proved very effective in discovering undisclosed wealth. Sitharaman stressed a phenomenal increase in voluntary declaration of foreign assets by taxpayers from 60,467 in 2021-22 to more than 2 lakh in 2024-25. 

>Demands worth Rs 17,520 crore have been raised in 697 cases.

>163 prosecutions have been initiated against offenders.

Furthermore, the act has led to the detection of undisclosed income of Rs 33,393 crore across 582 cases.

The government looks ahead to such cases pertaining to global leaks such as the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, HSBC, and ICIJ leaks. In order to fast-track these investigations, the MAG, or multi-agency group, has the government looking forward to cases related to global leaks such as the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, HSBC, and ICIJ leaks. To fast-track these investigations, the MAG, or Multi-Agency Group, has been set up to ensure coordinated action by various enforcement bodies.

Until today, 120 cases related to foreign assets remain under active scrutiny.

More than Rs 22,000 crore of recovery registers on behalf of ED, which is a great consolation and a significant realization of the efficiency with which this agency has been tackling economic offences and returning wealth to the Indian economy.

(With inputs from agencies)