The Enforcement Directorate (ED) — the country’s financial crime-fighting agency — successfully conducted its 32nd Quarterly Conference of Zonal Officers (QCZO) on September 12 and 13 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The two-day conference was chaired by the ED Director and attended by all Special Directors, Additional Directors, Joint Directors and the Deputy/Assistant Legal Advisors.
The decision to hold the conference in Srinagar was taken primarily to restore confidence in the security environment of the state after the unfortunate terrorist attack at Pahalgam a few months ago, according to an official statement.
The successful completion of the conference demonstrated that Jammu and Kashmir remains a safe vibrant and forward looking venue for national and international level deliberations, it noted.
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An important issue discussed at the conference was the fast-tracking of trial of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases. The director reviewed the statistics and directed zonal heads to expedite pending investigations, ensure filing of final prosecution complaints, and make all possible efforts to fast-track trials.
Following observations from the Supreme Court Bench during its review of the Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary judgement regarding establishing exclusive Special Courts for PMLA, it was noted that letters were sent to registrars of all Chief Justices for consideration of the proposal of establishing exclusive PMLA courts, the statement noted.
However, the discussions also noted that PMLA prosecutions are linked to the progress of the predicate offence, with delays or adverse outcomes in those cases affecting PMLA trials.
Nonetheless, it was noted thaton the cases that were decided on merit by the special courts, the agency has in fact secured convictions in 50 out of 53 cases, with a conviction rate of over 94 per cent which could be the highest among all agencies in India and also globally.
It was acknowledged that ED has also been able to successfully restitute assets worth more than Rs 34,000 crore to victims and legitimate claimants.
Here’s a summary of other major areas discussed at the quarterly conference:
- Case management database review
- Confirmed attached property possession
- Asset recovery and management
- IBC and PMLA interface
- FEMA and FERA matters
- Cyber and digital fraud
- Online betting and gaming
- Operational improvements
- Preventive vigilance
- Restitution targets
ED to set up offices on self-owned premises in 3-4 years
Discussions also included the ED’s goal of establishing all its offices on self-owned premises within the next 3-4 years.
The statement also noted that the ED has significantly strengthened its infrastructure with major acquisitions and approvals, including land at BKC Mumbai for a unified complex, new zonal offices at Bhubaneswar, Patna and Raipur, refurbishment at the Kolkata office, and securing new office spaces in Jalandhar, Dehradun, Shillong, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.
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