ED म्हणजे काय??

ED म्हणजे काय ??

By Laxman Nanaware

As a premier financial investigation agency of the Government of India, the Enforcement Directorate functions in strict compliance with the Constitution and Laws of India, and respects the guidance of all Lawful Authorities. We endeavour to establish and maintain high professional standards and credibility. Essential to these standards is the adherence to our Core Values, as follows:

Integrity : Integrity is our core requirement, displayed by

Soundness of moral principle, honesty and sincerity

High standards of personal conduct and character

Complete trustworthiness in handling information.

Accountability: We are answerable for outcomes. We

Ensure everyone knows what is expected of him or her, how their work will be evaluated, and how success will be measured and determined.

Accept responsibility for the consequences of our efforts and actions.

Commitment: Commitment means to us dedication, application, perseverance and a determination to achieve results. It requires us to

Apply ourselves to all tasks for which we have responsibility

Strive to achieve team and organizational objectives.

Excellence: We aim to excel in all that we do, and seek to

Constantly improve work performance by always seeking to upgrade systems and methods, and remove waste and inefficiencies

Sharpen our investigative skills, learning from global best practices

Support teamwork, communicate better with each other, encourage delegation of tasks, deal strictly with discipline issues.

Impartiality: We aim to

Be fair and reasonable in our investigations

Pursue and reveal the truth

Take decisions without fear or favour

Act without malice, prejudice or bias, and not allow the abuse of power.

HISTORY OF ED

1. The Directorate of Enforcement or the ED is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of economic crimes and violations of foreign exchange laws. The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1st May, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA ’47). This Unit with Delhi as Headquarters was headed by a Legal Service Officer, as Director of Enforcement, assisted by an Officer drawn on deputation from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and 03 Inspectors of Special Police Establishment. There were 02 branches – at Bombay and Calcutta.

2. In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’, and another branch was opened at Madras. In 1960, the administrative control of the Directorate was transferred from the Department of Economic Affairs to the Department of Revenue. With the passage of time, FERA’ 47 was repealed and replaced by FERA, 1973. For a short period of 04 years (1973 – 1977), the Directorate remained under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms. Presently, the Directorate is under the administrative control of Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

3. With the onset of the process of economic liberalization, FERA, 1973, which was a regulatory law, was repealed and in its place, a new law viz. the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) came into operation w.e.f. 1st June 2000. Further, in tune with the International Anti Money Laundering regime, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) was enacted and ED was entrusted with its enforcement w.e.f. 1st July 2005. Recently, with the increase in number of cases relating to economic offenders taking shelter in foreign countries, the Government has passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA) and ED is entrusted with its enforcement with effect from 21st April, 2018.

        The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. The statutory functions of the Directorate include enforcement of following Acts:

1. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): It is a criminal law enacted to prevent money laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from, or involved in, money-laundering and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. ED has been given the responsibility to enforce the provisions of the PMLA by conducting investigation to trace the assets derived from proceeds of crime, to provisionally attach the property and to ensure prosecution of the offenders and confiscation of the property by the Special court.

2. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA): It is a civil law enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to facilitate external trade and payments and to promote the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. ED has been given the responsibility to conduct investigation into suspected contraventions of foreign exchange laws and regulations, to adjudicate and impose penalties on those adjudged to have contravened the law.

3. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA): This law was enacted to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts. It is a law whereby Directorate is mandated to attach the properties of the fugitive economic offenders who have escaped from the India warranting arrest and provide for the confiscation of their properties to the Central Government.

4. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA): The main functions under the repealed FERA are to adjudicate the Show Cause Notices issued under the the said Act upto 31.5.2002 for the alleged contraventions of the Act which may result in imposition of penalties and to pursue prosecutions launched under FERA in the concerned courts.

5. Sponsoring agency under COFEPOSA: Under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA), this Directorate is empowered to sponsor cases of preventive detention with regard to contraventions of FEMA.