CJI flags global money laundering scale, calls for proactive judicial response

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has drawn attention to the staggering scale of global money laundering, noting that the amount laundered worldwide in a single year could buy a modest laptop for every one of the eight billion people on the planet, with change to spare.

Speaking at the closing address of the 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime in London on Saturday, the CJI underscored the immense challenge posed by illicit financial flows. He pointed out that by the most generous estimates, less than one unit out of every hundred units of laundered money is ever recovered.

Surya Kant also highlighted India's layered approach to tackling economic crime, built over successive decades through legislation, institutions, and judicial doctrine. He noted that the Indian justice delivery system has increasingly allowed civil recovery even while criminal trials remain pending, citing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which runs alongside criminal proceedings.

On international cooperation, the CJI observed that Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, despite their imperfections, have proven more reliable in bringing recovered assets home than extradition. He remarked that illicit wealth rarely stays where it was stolen.

Turning to emerging frauds, the Chief Justice flagged the rising menace of 'digital arrest' scams, where fraudsters impersonate police officers, judicial officials, or bureaucrats over video calls to dupe citizens of their savings. He said the Supreme Court has directed the Union and states to evaluate the extent of the problem and called for the establishment of a distinct offence with penalties proportionate to the harm inflicted.

This approach, he said, exemplifies a broader pattern of an Indian judiciary that proactively responds to emerging fraudulent schemes rather than waiting for Parliament to address them.