NSEL Case: Mumbai PMLA Court Directs ED To Monetise Attached Assets For ₹1,950 Crore Payment To 63 Moons Under Creditor Settlement Scheme

Mumbai: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to monetise properties attached in the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) payment default case and distribute Rs 1,950 crore from the proceeds to 63 Moons Technologies Ltd, which is entitled to the amount as assignee of specified creditors and investors under a court-approved settlement scheme. The payment, however, will be subject to the occurrence of the Settlement Trigger Event defined under the scheme.

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63 Moons, formerly known as Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, is itself accused No. 73 in the PMLA case. However, in the present proceedings, the company has approached the court in a different capacity, seeking to recover Rs 1,950 crore as assignee of specified creditors’ and investors’ claims under the settlement scheme. The application was filed jointly with Harpreet Kaur Dang, an authorised representative of the specified creditors and investors. 

 In an order dated October 8, Special Judge Nitin V Jiwane partly allowed the application and directed the ED to proceed with monetising the attached properties under PMLA in consultation with the competent authority appointed under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act. The court directed that the amount be distributed to 63 Moons from the proceeds realised through the sale of the properties, subject to the occurrence of the Settlement Trigger Event defined under the scheme approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, on November 28, 2025.  

The applicants had restricted their immediate claim to Rs 1,950 crore, while reserving their rights to seek any amount realised in excess of that figure at an appropriate stage.

The ED did not oppose the assignment of Rs 1,950 crore for reimbursing the specified creditors under the settlement scheme. However, the agency clarified that its no-objection should not be treated as an admission regarding the legal ownership or character of any attached property, or as acceptance that any particular asset constitutes proceeds of crime. 

The agency further submitted that any amount realised through monetisation in excess of Rs 1,950 crore should remain in the custody and control of the special court and should not be released or distributed to any party until the proceedings reach an appropriate conclusion.  

 The court accepted the ED's position on the limited assignment and held that 63 Moons was entitled to receive the specified amount from the proceeds  realised through the monetisation of properties attached in the PMLA case, subject to the settlement scheme's conditions. The court did not grant the company an immediate right to receive the money, making the payment contingent on the occurrence of the Settlement Trigger Event.

The court relied on the settlement scheme approved by the NCLT in November 2025 and subsequently upheld by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in January 2026. The challenge to the scheme before the Supreme Court was also dismissed, the order noted. It further referred to a Supreme Court order dated April 13, 2026, which recognised the settlement scheme and directed designated courts and other authorities to pass appropriate orders expeditiously to facilitate its implementation and payments to eligible investors.

Under the scheme, the claims of specified creditors are to be assigned to 63 Moons upon the occurrence of the Settlement Trigger Event. The company is required to pay Rs 1,950 crore to the specified creditors, while the assignment enables it to pursue the corresponding claims against the defaulting financial establishments and persons. 

The court noted that 63 Moons was itself accused in the PMLA case. However, it was seeking the amount as assignee of the specified creditors’ claims, rather than in its personal capacity. The court held that the assignment could be recognised under Sections 8(7) and 8(8) of the PMLA, which deal with orders concerning property involved in money laundering and the restoration of confiscated assets to eligible claimants who have suffered quantifiable losses.

The NSEL case originated after payment defaults on the exchange platform in 2013. An FIR was registered by the MRA Marg police station in Mumbai, following which the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing took up the investigation. The ED subsequently registered an Enforcement Case Information Report(ECIR) and initiated proceedings under the PMLA, attaching properties of several persons and entities allegedly linked to the case.

The ED's prosecution complaint in the matter was filed in 2015, followed by supplementary complaints.

The latest order provides a legal route for monetising the attached assets to facilitate investor restitution, while leaving the status of any proceeds exceeding Rs 1,950 crore subject to further proceedings and the conditions laid down by the court.

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