Supreme Court Questions ED on Sequence of Trials for Predicate Offences and Money Laundering Cases
The Supreme Court on Friday suggested that it might be more beneficial for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) if predicate offences (the underlying crimes related to money laundering allegations) are tried first before the ED’s money laundering cases proceed to trial [S Martin v ED].
The ED can only investigate money laundering cases after criminal complaints concerning predicate offences are registered under the schedule to the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA).
A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih noted that there is no definitive decision on whether a PMLA trial should necessarily follow the completion of a trial into the predicate offences.
“The issue is whether the predicate offence should be tried first? Tell us first, is it not in your interest that the predicate offence be decided first? This is a question of law. This needs hearing,” the Court remarked, addressing the ED’s counsel.
The observation came while the Court was hearing a plea by Santiago Martin, known as the “lottery king.”
Martin is being prosecuted by both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with an alleged lottery scam related to the sale of Sikkim government lottery tickets in Kerala. He is accused of causing an approximate loss of over ₹900 crores to the Sikkim government.
Recently, Martin gained attention for being the single largest donor of electoral bonds, contributing ₹1,368 crores, as per State Bank of India (SBI) data.
The CBI case against Martin includes charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and violations under the Lotteries (Regulation) Act of 1998. The ED has accused him of money laundering.
Martin had earlier approached the Supreme Court, seeking to defer the PMLA trial until the CBI trial is completed. In April, the Supreme Court granted interim relief and stayed the PMLA trial against Martin.
The matter will be heard next in the last week of August. The ED was directed to file a counter on the larger question of whether the trial for predicate offences should be completed before PMLA case trials.
Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi and advocate Rohini Musa represented Martin.
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