NEW DELHI: India has begun discussions on amending its anti-money laundering framework so that an agency can be mandated to commercially manage seized assets worth thousands of crores of rupees such as farm land, prime property and luxury cars. The assets will generate income for the government rather than lying unused and going to waste until cases are decided.The issue has gained urgency after law enforcement agencies confiscated the assets of jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi following the Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud they are embroiled in as well as those seized as part of the recent Rose Valley pyramid scheme.“Rules have to be amended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” said a senior finance ministry official. “We are discussing with stakeholders.” ET had in its November 21edition reported on the thinking about roping in an agency to manage these assets.

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These will be finalised after consultations, the official said. The department of revenue in the finance ministry is working on the details. New provisions may be inserted in the rules dealing with attachment, adjudication and confiscation under the laundering law.There have been discussions with NBCC, a state-run construction company, as a possible asset manager, the person said. The Enforcement Directorate administers PMLA and has powers to attach properties and assets under the law. Changes to rules can allow government to nominate any agency to commercially maintain these.Unproductive AssetsHowever, there is a view that provisions need to be amended to provide legal strength to such a mechanism. ED has such seized assets of more than Rs 30,000 crore. The government is keen that all such assets should be put to commercial use until their fate is decided by the judiciary. This would help the government earn revenue and preserve the value of assets.In the PNB case, ED has seized assets worth Rs 7,600 crore. The income tax department has seized 31 immovable properties in the names of Modi, his wife and various group concerns, 141 bank accounts/fixed deposits of the group with cumulative credit balance of Rs 145.74 crore and 173 paintings. In the case of the Mehul Choksi Group, the income tax department has attached seven immovable properties, land, buildings and fixed assets of Rs 1,278 crore and bank accounts having a balance of Rs 101.78 crore.In one of its biggest hauls, ED on March 29 attached assets worth Rs 2,300 crore, including two dozen hotels and resorts in the Rose Valley pyramid scam case under PMLA. One of the single-largest attachments of property under the law, it included 11 resorts, nine hotels, a plot of about 200 acres and 414 land parcels spread across West Bengal.