IBC and PMLA: Clarity needed in enforcing two overlapping laws in harmony

Seshagiri Rao, JSW Steel joint managing director and group chief financial officer, explained that the main issue is whether the PMLA has an overriding effect on the IBC

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval to JSW Steel's resolution plan for Bhushan Power & Steel — one of the 12 big-ticket cases mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) — should have brought the curtains down on a more than two-year corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) for the stressed steel asset. Instead, an appeal was filed by JSW seeking protection from attachment and liability resulting from criminal proceedings, bringing to the fore two apparently overlapping laws: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the IBC. 

Seshagiri Rao,