ED sets target of filing 500 chargesheets this fiscal; completing probe in 1-2 years

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has set a target of filing 500 chargesheets in money-laundering cases in the current financial year and investigating officials have been directed to ensure that once a case is registered, the probe should be completed within one to two years, except in "complex" matters, the agency said on Sunday.

These measures were discussed and finalised during the federal probe agency's 34th Quarterly Conference of Zonal Officers (QCZO) held in Assam's capital, Guwahati, on December 19-21 last year. The meeting was chaired by ED Director Rahul Navin.

The agency has been holding this once-in-three months conference outside Delhi since last year, with the last two editions held in Kevadia (Gujarat) and Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir).

"The decision to hold the conference in northeastern region reflects the directorate's recognition of the strategic and operational importance of the region," the ED said in a statement.

It added that the meeting was significant as it was the last before the end of the current fiscal (March 31). Officials were told that the focus must be on "meaningful" achievement of targets, logical conclusion of investigations, timely filing of prosecution complaints and ensuring that attachments and penalties are legally sustainable and effectively realised.

"The target of filing 500 prosecution complaints in the current financial year was reiterated and all field formations were urged to make concerted efforts to achieve the same while also preparing for an enhanced target in the next financial year.

"The need for this enhanced target is to proactively conclude long-pending investigations and to systematically reduce the life cycle of new investigations to a reasonable time frame of one to two years except in exceptionally-complex cases," the statement said.

The ED officials were also told that the powers given to them under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) come with a corresponding responsibility and they should exercise those with caution, fairness and accountability.

"It was advised that officers must remain mindful of the impact of enforcement actions and ensure that summons and other statutory notices are issued judiciously, based on clear necessity and proper application of mind," the statement said.

The conference also discussed issues related to "priority areas" like intensifying efforts to track illicit assets abroad, identifying trade channels being misused for money laundering, misuse of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and prioritisation of digital-arrest and cyber-fraud cases, instances of which are witnessing a "sharp" rise.

ED investigators were also asked to check the proliferation of illegal-betting and online-gaming platforms in the country, money laundering through share-market manipulation, and remain vigilant against foreign funding channels that may be used for unlawful narrative building, destabilising activities or anti-national purposes.

The officers were also advised to leverage mechanisms, such as Interpol, using the domestic BHARATPOL, including issuance of colour notices, especially "Purple" notices.

The "Purple" notice issued by the Interpol aims to seek or provide information on the modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals.

The officers were also directed to complete the adjudication of all pending cases registered under the now-repealed Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) by March 31.

Challenges related to delays, getting sanctions for prosecution, non-cooperation by police in some states, limited manpower, logistical constraints in remote regions, the lack of digitised land records and valuation issues relating to volatile digital assets were also discussed, the statement said.

It added that the officers were also "encouraged" to make full use of formal channels of cooperation with foreign countries, including Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests, letters rogatory (judicial requests) and extradition processes.

"The value of building direct professional relationships with foreign enforcement counterparts was highlighted as early informal engagement often facilitates quicker intelligence sharing and ultimately, a smooth transition to formal requests, thereby strengthening ED's effectiveness in handling cross-border money-laundering and asset-recovery cases," it said.

Some other central agencies like the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) delivered thematic presentations for the ED officials during the conference.