Your complete, plain-language guide to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Start here to understand how the ED works — the ECIR, summons, search, arrest, attachment, bail and trial — and follow the links to detailed guides on each stage, plus case laws, compliance, and answers to the questions people ask most.
The ED can attach the property of “any person” — not just the accused. Consequently, banks, buyers, and family members often find their assets frozen for someone else’s alleged crime. Drawing from my experience in PMLA matters, this guide explains how third parties with legitimate interests can contest attachment: the statutory scheme under Sections 5 and 8, the forums from the Adjudicating Authority to the High Court, what your reply must contain, and the landmark rulings — Axis Bank, Seema Garg, and others — where third parties actually won.