Exponential rise in ED actions in BJP rule vs UPA era

Enforcement Directorate's searches under anti-money laundering law surged 86 times, with arrests and asset attachments rising about 25 times in the ten years since 2014, compared to the preceding nine-year period, as per official data.

An analysis of the data for the last ten years, between April 2014 and March 2024, against the nine years from July 2005 to March 2014 presents a picture of the federal agency's "intensified" action under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 and implemented from July 1, 2005, to check serious crimes of tax evasion, generation of black money and money laundering. While the Opposition parties have alleged that the

ED's action during the last decade was part of the BJP-led central government's "oppressive" tactics against its rivals and others, the Union government and the ruling party have asserted that the agency is independent and its investigations were purely based on merit and under the mandate to act against the corrupt.