The Directorate of Enforcement on Monday informed the Kerala High Court that the offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy charged against Santiago Martin in connection with illegal sale of lotteries of other States in Kerala were scheduled under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The submission was made when a petition filed by Martin challenging the order of the Adjudicating Authority attaching his properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act came up for hearing.
The case has triggered a controversy following the appearance of Senior Counsel M.K. Damodaran, who is the Special Legal Advisor to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for the petitioner before the High Court.
In an affidavit, the Joint Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Kochi, submitted that the petitioner could have moved the appellate tribunal under the PML Act against the order of the Adjudicating Authority instead of filing a writ petition before the High Court. Besides, the Adjudicating Authority had the power to invalidate the provisional attachment order if the property attached was not involved in money laundering activities.
The petitioner contended as per Section 3 and Section 2(U) of the Act, the properties, subjected to under the PMLAct, must have been obtained as a result of criminal activities. The activities under the Lotteries (Regulations) Act did not amount to a criminal activity. Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar adjourned the hearing to July 14.
