Only 2 Convictions in 193 ED Cases Against Political Leaders in the Last 10 Years

The Union Government has revealed shocking data in Parliament, stating that out of over 190 Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases against political leaders in the past 10 years, only two have resulted in convictions.

Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, while responding to questions raised by Communist Party of India (Marxist) Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim, said that the specific data Rahim requested was not maintained.

Instead, a table with year-wise details of cases against sitting and former MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and other political figures was provided, as reported by the media.

Rahim had inquired about the number of ED cases registered against MPs, MLAs, and local administration members in the last ten years, along with their party affiliations, state-wise and year-wise breakdowns. The data revealed a significant surge in cases between 2019 and 2024, with the highest number of cases being filed in 2022-23.

In contrast, in December 2024, the Union Government informed Parliament that out of 911 cases filed by the ED between 2019 and 2024, trials were completed in 654, resulting in convictions in 42 cases—reflecting a conviction rate of 6.42%.

Responding to Rahim’s question about whether the government had undertaken any reforms to improve the transparency and efficiency of ED investigations, the minister stated in Parliament:

"The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a premier law enforcement agency of the Government of India, entrusted with the administration and enforcement of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)."

He further emphasized, "ED takes up cases for investigation based on credible evidence and material and does not differentiate based on political affiliations, religion, or any other factor. Furthermore, the ED’s actions are always open to judicial review."

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