Centre allows ED to share info to more agencies

Centre allows ED to share info to more agencies

Subject: Polity

Context: The government has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to share information about economic offenders with 15 more agencies.

Content:

• The Finance Ministry notified changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
• ED which deals primarily with cases of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws, would be able to share data with a total of 25 agencies, including the 10 specified earlier – CBI, RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, IB, and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), among others.
• Now the new 15 agencies include National Investigation Agency (NIA), Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), State Police Department, regulators under various Acts, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of External Affairs, Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Intelligence Grid, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Defence Intelligence Agency, National Technical Research Organisation, Military Intelligence, inquiry authority under Central Civil Services Rules and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
• This change will integrate numerous state and central government agencies, empowering them with verified information related to an outlaw.

Concept:

Enforcement Directorate:

• It is a Multi-Disciplinary Organization mandated with the task of enforcing the provisions of two special fiscal laws – Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). 
• The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1st May, 1956, when an‘Enforcement Unit’was formed, in Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA, 1947).
• In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’. The administrative control of the Directorate was transferred from Department of Economic Affairs toDepartment of Revenue in 1960.
• The Directorate enforces two laws;
• FEMA, a Civil Law having quasi-judicial powers, for investigating suspected contraventions of the Exchange Control Laws and Regulations with the powers to impose penalties on those adjudged guilty.
• PMLA, a Criminal Law, whereby the Officers are empowered to conduct enquiries to locate, provisionally attach/confiscate assets derived from acts of Schedules Offences besides arresting and prosecuting the Money Launderers.
• The ED has its headquarters in New Delhiand has many regional offices all over the country.
• Composition– Besides directly recruiting personnel, the Directorate also draws officers from different Investigating Agencies, viz., Customs & Central Excise, Income Tax, Police, etc. on deputation.
• It is headed by the Director of Enforcement, who is an IRS officer (Indian Revenue Service).
• Other functions:
• Processing cases of fugitive/s from India under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
• Sponsor cases of preventive detention under Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974(COFEPOSA)in regard to contraventions of FEMA.
• Special courts:
• For the trial of an offence punishable under section 4 of PMLA, the Central Government (in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court), designates one or more Sessions Court as Special Court(s).The court is also called “PMLA Court”.
• Any appealagainst any order passed by PMLA court can directly be filed in the High Court for that jurisdiction.