The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that more than half of assets attached by the agency so far are linked to bank-related irregularities and added that such cases in the country have now declined after they peaked in 2018-19, attributing the drop to its proactive approach and rigorous investigations.
In its annual report released last week, the federal agency said ₹80,000 crore assets out of ₹1.54 crore attached by ED are related to bank fraud cases.
“ED has responded decisively by rigorously investigating major bank fraud cases with the objective of promptly restituting assets to defrauded banks or rightful claimants. As of March 2025, ED had probed over 1,228 money-laundering cases related to bank frauds, attached assets worth over ₹80,000 crore, and facilitated the return of more than ₹23,258 crore to banks. Thus, the role played by the focused and proactive approach by ED in contributing to the declining NPA (non-performing assets) ratio in Indian banks cannot be understated,” the report said.
According to the report, the money laundering case linked to bank fraud cases, which peaked from 36 in 2018-19 to 149 in 2019-20 and 249 in 2020-21, are now starting to decline with 232 cases registered in 2021-22, 202 in 2022-23, 115 in 2023-34 and 66 in 2024-25.
Underlining that the action under prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) acted as a deterrent, the report said “ED’s strict enforcement of the PMLA—with stringent bail conditions and a strong deterrent effect against asset misappropriation — curbs potential frauds, ensuring that new loans are less likely to turn into NPAs”.
“Thus, strong actions by ED including attachment and restitution in many cases related to bank frauds have made such endeavors a zero-sum game for perpetrators and as can be seen from the trends represented above, incidences of such cases have drastically come down,” it added.
The agency said that while bank frauds are beginning to decline, there is a surge in cyber or cryptocurrency related frauds, with ED registering 122 cases related to cyber or cryptocurrency related financial frauds involving proceeds of crime (PoC) worth ₹20462 crores in which properties worth ₹5964 crores have been attached so far.
“While the risk of bank and real estate fraud may be coming down, the risk for cyber and crypto related fraud has been drastically rising in recent years. This sharp increase aligns with the rapid growth of digital currencies and online transactions, which have opened new avenues for crimes like hacking, ransomware, and cryptocurrency scams. The steep rise highlights how quickly these threats are evolving, driven by technological advancements and the anonymity of digital platforms, posing a significant challenge for ED to keep pace,” the annual report said.