ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE CHIEF - POLITY

ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE CHIEF - POLITY

News: Why question of ED chief’s tenure is back in SC

 

What's in the news?

●       The Supreme Court said it might revisit its 2021 ruling that the tenure of a superannuated officer may be extended only in exceptional circumstances.

 

Key takeaways:

●       In 2021, the court was dealing with the appointment of Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

●       The SC reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions challenging the third extension given to Mishra.

 

Enforcement Directorate:

●       Formed in 1956, the ED became a prime agency following enactment of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2002, implemented from July 1, 2005.

 

Role of ED:

●       The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.

 

Director of ED:

●       The Directorate of Enforcement, with its headquarters at New Delhi, is headed by the Director of Enforcement for a term of two years.

●       In November 2021, the President of India promulgated two ordinances allowing the Centre to extend the tenures of the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate from two years to up to five years.

●       The chiefs of the Central agencies currently have a fixed two-year tenure, but can now be given three annual extensions.

●       However, no further extension can be granted after the completion of a period of five years in total including the period mentioned in the initial appointment.

 

Go back to basics:

Cases dealt by ED:

The Enforcement Directorate investigate cases related to

●       Economic crimes.

●       Violations of foreign exchange laws.

●       It originally dealt with Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA).

 

At present Enforcement Directorate deals with 4 laws:

  1. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)
  2. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)
  3. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)
  4. Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA)

 

Control:

●       It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

●       The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is to enforce the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).