World launders enough money to buy every person on earth laptop: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant warned that the world laundered enough money in a single year to purchase a laptop for every one of the eight billion people on Earth, with less than one percent of that illicit wealth ever recovered. At the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, Kant highlighted the vast gap between the scale of economic crime and legal systems' ability to recover proceeds.

He argued that the focus of the symposium should move from rhetoric to "institutionalised interdiction" aimed at not only punishing offenders but also recovering assets and compensating victims. Kant emphasized the need for a coordinated international response, stressing that no single country can tackle economic crime alone due to its cross-border nature.

He advocated for tools like non-conviction-based forfeiture, unexplained wealth orders, beneficial ownership registries, and financial intelligence sharing, but stressed the failure to use these tools collectively. Kant also addressed the challenges of India's legal framework, including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the importance of mutual legal assistance in recovering illicit assets across borders.