India, Jan. 11 -- Official parliamentary data shows a widening gap between the number of money laundering cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and those that have reached judicial conclusion, with convictions confined to a small fraction of cases.

The ED's recent search operations in West Bengal have once again drawn attention to the agency's expanding use of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Official data placed before Parliament shows that while the ED has registered over 5,000 money laundering cases in the last five years, only a small number have reached judicial determination on merits.

On Thursday, the agency carried out search operations at ten locations in West Bengal and Delhi under the PMLA in conn...