Short answer: A provisional attachment order under Section 5 PMLA freezes your rights over the property for up to 180 days. Within 30 days the ED must file a complaint before the Adjudicating Authority, which issues you a notice of at least 30 days and decides after a hearing whether to confirm the attachment. A confirmation can be appealed to the Appellate Tribunal within 45 days, and then to the High Court within 60 days.
The provisional attachment
Under Section 5(1), an authorised ED officer may provisionally attach property for a period not exceeding 180 days from the date of the order, if, on material in his possession, he has reason to believe, recorded in writing, that the property is proceeds of crime and is likely to be concealed, transferred or dealt with in a way that frustrates confiscation. The first proviso ordinarily requires that a police report or a complaint has already been filed in the scheduled offence, while the second proviso allows attachment without that if the property would otherwise not be secured, with reasons recorded. Under Section 5(5), the officer must file a complaint before the Adjudicating Authority within 30 days of the attachment.
The Adjudicating Authority stage
The Adjudicating Authority, a body of a Chairperson and two Members, issues a notice of not less than 30 days under Section 8(1). The notice calls on the person to indicate the sources of income, earnings or assets used to acquire the property, with supporting evidence, and to show cause why it should not be declared as involved in money laundering. After considering the reply and hearing both sides under Section 8(2), it records a finding.
If the attachment is confirmed under Section 8(3), it continues during the investigation for up to 365 days or during the pendency of proceedings relating to the offence before a court, and becomes final only when a confiscation order is passed under Section 8(5) or 8(7). Section 8(4) allows the ED to take possession after confirmation. Under Section 8(5) confiscation follows a finding by the Special Court that money laundering was committed, and under Section 8(6) the property is released if it is found not to be involved. Section 8(8) lets the Special Court restore property to a claimant with a legitimate interest who acted in good faith and suffered loss; in 2026 the Supreme Court refused such a plea where no quantifiable loss was shown.
Appeals
Section 26 allows any person aggrieved by an order of the Adjudicating Authority to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal within 45 days of receiving the order. A further appeal lies to the High Court under Section 42 within 60 days of communication of the Tribunal’s decision, extendable for sufficient cause.
On 6 February 2026, in Nav Nirman Builders and Developers Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India, Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh held that while a Section 26 appeal against confirmation is pending, the Special Court should refrain from deciding a confiscation application under Section 8(7). The Tribunal was directed to hear the appeal on merits, confirming that the appeal is a real safeguard.
Related questions
Can ED attach property I bought before the alleged offence?
Proceeds of crime include the ‘value’ of such property, so the ED sometimes attaches other assets. In Tulsiani Construction (2026), however, the Allahabad High Court held that a flat bought in 2012, ten years before the 2022 FIR and not from crime proceeds, could not be attached as such ‘value’. The date and funding of each property matter.
Can I live in or use the attached property?
Attachment prevents transfer and dealing with the property. Possession is a separate step that the ED can take only after the Adjudicating Authority confirms the attachment, under Section 8(4). Whether and how possession is taken depends on the property and on any court orders.
What if the Adjudicating Authority does not confirm within 180 days?
Under Section 5(3), the provisional order ceases to have effect at the end of the 180-day period or on the date of an order under Section 8, whichever is earlier. Any lapse should be raised promptly.
Does acquittal or closure of the predicate case help?
Yes. Attachment rests on the property being proceeds of crime from a scheduled offence. If the predicate case ends in discharge, acquittal or quashing, that is a strong ground for release, which must be pursued in the pending proceedings.
Practical points
- Calendar the 180-day, 30-day notice and 45-day appeal deadlines on the day you receive any order.
- Assemble the acquisition history of each property: dates, sale deeds, payment trail, loans.
- Reply to the Section 8(1) notice with documents, not only legal objections.
- Third parties such as banks and homebuyers should place their interest on record early.
Sources: Section 5 PMLA (Indian Kanoon); PMLA, 2002 (Indian Kanoon); Nav Nirman Builders v. Union of India, 6 Feb 2026; Verdictum, 9 Jul 2026.
For a confidential discussion on ED/PMLA matters, see ED and PMLA Defence.
General legal information only; not legal advice or solicitation.
