The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit a status report on initiation of action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) Group case.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar issued the direction when it was contended on behalf of some of investors that the ED, which too has attached some of the properties of the IMA Group, may file its report in a court in Delhi and the investors could be deprived of claiming their share of investment as process of attachment of ED is different from the process under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors (KPID) in Financial Establishments Act, 2004.
The bench also observed that it is needless to point out that the competent authority appointed by the State government under the KPID Act, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED will have to coordinate with each other.
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The bench asked the government why action under the KPID Act was not initiated against several other private financial firms when letters were addressed to the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioner way back in February 2018 following complaints against them by investors.