PMLA Tribunal Upholds ED's Property Attachment in Karti Chidambaram Case

Imagine a special court, called the PMLA Appellate Tribunal, deals with money laundering cases.

A politician named Karti Chidambaram had some of his belongings, like a house share and bank accounts, taken by a government agency called the ED because they suspected him of money laundering.

Karti Chidambaram went to the tribunal and said this taking of his things was wrong.

He argued that the ED waited too long, more than a year, to officially accuse him in court after taking his stuff.

There's a rule that says they usually have only a year for this.

But the ED said that the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to do things on time, and the Supreme Court had agreed to pause deadlines during that period.

The tribunal agreed with the ED, saying the pandemic was an unusual situation that affected their work.

So, they told Karti Chidambaram that his appeal was dismissed and the ED can keep his properties, but they still need a very good reason to actually take physical possession of the house share.