Legal Dimensions of Black Money and Financial Corruption in India

Black money — undeclared or illicit wealth held domestically or abroad — and financial corruption continue to pose systemic risks to fiscal integrity, governance, and equitable development in India. This paper examines the legal architecture India has built to address black money and corruption, analyses enforcement institutions and tools. The paper highlights the key statutes (Black Money Act 2015, Prevention of Money-Laundering Act 2002, Benami Transactions Prohibition laws, FEMA, and criminal anticorruption provisions), international cooperation instruments (CRS/AEOI, FATCA, MLATs), and institutional practices (CBDT, ED, CBI, FIU-IND, SFIO). Through critical analysis the paper exposes enforcement gaps — procedural delays, evidentiary difficulties, inter-agency coordination shortfalls, privacy and rule-of-law concerns, and the evolving challenge of digital/crypto assets and opaque beneficial ownership — and recommends legal, institutional and policy reforms to strengthen India’s response to illicit finance.