The Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1837, answered on August 04, 2026, on “Cases Registered by the ED and IT” was answered by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Shri Pankaj Chaudhary. The Question sought year-wise details of cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department during the last five years, cases where trial has not started, undertrial prisoners currently in jail, convictions and persons found not guilty by courts.
The Government informed the Rajya Sabha that during the five financial years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26, the Enforcement Directorate registered 4,622 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), while the Income Tax Department filed 2,127 prosecution cases.
Year-wise, ED registered 1,116 PMLA cases in FY 2021-22, 953 in FY 2022-23, 698 in FY 2023-24, 775 in FY 2024-25 and 1,080 in FY 2025-26.
The Income Tax Department, meanwhile, filed 195 prosecution cases in FY 2021-22, 387 in FY 2022-23, 502 in FY 2023-24, 611 in FY 2024-25 and 432 in FY 2025-26, taking the five-year total to 2,127 cases.
The Government further stated that, as of June 30, 2026, the Enforcement Directorate had filed Prosecution Complaints in 2,444 cases under the PMLA before Special Courts constituted under the Act. These cases are at various stages of trial.
The ED has also arrested 1,243 accused under the provisions of the PMLA. However, the Government stated that data regarding undertrial prisoners currently lodged in jail is not centrally maintained, as some of the persons concerned may have been arrested by the predicate or scheduled-offence investigating agencies.
On convictions secured by the Enforcement Directorate, the Government informed the House that 43 cases resulted in convictions under the PMLA during FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26, involving a total of 104 convicted accused.
The year-wise data show that the ED secured convictions in 3 cases involving 4 accused in FY 2021-22; 9 cases involving 24 accused in FY 2022-23; 13 cases involving 19 accused in FY 2023-24; 9 cases involving 38 accused in FY 2024-25; and 9 cases involving 19 accused in FY 2025-26.
With regard to Income Tax prosecution matters, the Government clarified that prosecution complaints are filed only after sanction is obtained from the competent authority under Section 279(1) of the Income Tax Act, upon completion of investigation and recording of relevant facts.
During the five-year period, 233 Income Tax prosecution cases resulted in conviction, comprising 11 cases in FY 2021-22, 69 in FY 2022-23, 35 in FY 2023-24, 71 in FY 2024-25 and 47 in FY 2025-26.
The Income Tax Department also reported 854 prosecution cases resulting in acquittal during the period. These included 47 cases in FY 2021-22, 130 in FY 2022-23, 183 in FY 2023-24, 201 in FY 2024-25 and 293 in FY 2025-26.
The Government cautioned that the number of prosecution cases filed in a particular financial year cannot be directly correlated with conviction or acquittal figures for the same year, as judicial outcomes may relate to prosecution cases instituted in earlier financial years.
The Answer can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/RS-Cases-registered-by-the-ED-and-IT-04.08.2026.pdf
