Under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the Director or any officer authorised by him may provisionally attach property believed to be proceeds of crime. What is the maximum period of such provisional attachment?

Section 5(1) of PMLA, 2002 empowers the Director or any officer not below the rank of Deputy Director to provisionally attach property if they have reason to believe it represents proceeds of crime. Such provisional attachment is valid for a period of 180 days from the date of the order, within which the Adjudicating Authority must confirm or revoke it. The authority must record reasons in writing before making such an order, and file a complaint before the Adjudicating Authority within 30 days. Under Section 5(1), PMLA - the 180-day period can be extended by a further 30 days in specific circumstances specifically, when a stay order passed by a High Court is vacated, the 180-day period is extended by the period of the stay plus an additional 30 days from the date of vacation of the stay.