Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA
Mumbai, Nov 18: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) chairman, corporate laws committee, Kamlesh Vikamsey has urged that the union government should immediately remove major unfettered powers given to the law-enforcing agencies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Bill, 1998, that would affect the common people, when the bill will come up for debate in the forthcoming winter session of parliament.
Vikamsey told newspersons here, last night that the power of the survey, search, seizure, retention of seized property and arrest should be with prior approval of higher authority and various other safeguards.
He pointed out that the major lacuna in the prevention of money laundering bill was that banks are excluded from the definition of the financial institutions and they would not be required to furnish high value transaction information to the commissioners of income tax, Vikamsey added. Vikamsey said that the provision of vesting of property in the central government free from all encumbrances is ultra vires in the constitution of India.
A person who is detained in judicial custody for days may not know the grounds for which he is detained.
The definition of proceeds of crimes and offence of money laundering does not have any monetary limit and is applicable even to small transactions. So also a person may unknowingly commit the offence of money laundering.
In foreign exchange management bill the definition of person resident in India would lead to hardships. If a person leaves for employment abroad he would have to repatriate his money earned abroad for a period of six months, Vikamsey added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------