Contribution of Directorate of Enforcement will be extremely important in an economically secure India: MoS Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary

Between 2014 to 2024, 5,113 new PMLA investigations initiated: ED Director Shri Rahul Navin

ASG Shri S.V. Raju urges ED officers to stay abreast of changing ML scenarios and elaborated on using the various tools available under PMLA

Shri Chaudhary also releases the ED Annual Report for FY 2024-25

ED also confers 23 awards under various categories to its officers and Zonal Units

Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary presided over the 69th Foundation Day of Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in New Delhi, today.

Also present on the dais were Shri S.V. Raju, Additional Solicitor General; Shri Rahul Navin, Director, ED; Shri Subhash Aggarwal and Shri Prashant Kumar, Special Directors, ED; and Shri Naval Kishore Ram, Joint Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

The 69th Foundation Day celebrations were also attended by ex-Directors of ED; heads of various investigative agencies; international delegates from various organisations; all India officers of JD and above level; senior officials of Government of India; and also from Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

In his address on the occasion, Shri Chaudhary said, “The vision of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is that no economic offender should be able to deprive the common and poor citizens of their rights, and prevention is essential for this as well as ensuring that the offender receives appropriate punishment. The role of the Enforcement Directorate is extremely important in both areas.”

Shri Chaudhary also stated that as India is marching towards achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the nature of the economy and economic activities will also change, and complexities will also increase, which might result in evolution of the nature of economic crimes. The Minister emphasised on the critical role the Enforcement Directorate will play in the future.

“The vision of a developed India inherently includes the vision of a secure India. The contribution of the Enforcement Directorate will be extremely important in an economically secure India,” the Minister added.

In his address on the occasion, Shri Navin emphasised on the significant step-up in enforcement activity from 2014 to 2024, with 5,113 new PMLA investigations were initiated averaging more than 500 cases per year. Building on this momentum, Shri Navin noted that in the Financial Year 2024-25, 775 new PMLA investigations were launched, 333 Prosecution Complaints were filed, leading to 34 individual convictions.

During this period, Shri Navin said that ED has issued 461 provisional attachment orders valued at Rs. 30,036 crore – a 44% increase in the number of attachments and a striking 141% rise in their total value compared to the previous year. As on 31st March, 2025, the total value of assets under provisional attachment stood at Rs. 1,54,594 crore.

Shri Navin also apprised the gathering that with the approval of the courts, restitution of Rs. 15,261 crore was done in 30 cases during F.Y. 2024-25 and this process is likely to accelerate in FY2025-26.

“The ED has filed 333 prosecution complaints last year, taking the total cases under various stage of trial to 1,739 as on 31st March, 2025; and of the 47 cases decided so far, there have been only 3 acquittals, yielding a commendable conviction rate of 93.6%,” Shri Navin added.

In his address on the occasion, Shri S.V. Raju highlighted the growing use of cryptocurrency and hawala traders as tools for Money Laundering (ML) and urged the ED officers to stay abreast of the changing ML scenarios and elaborated on the tools under PMLA.

On the occasion, Shri Chaudhary also released the Annual Report for FY 2024-25.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS ED ANNUAL REPORT FOR FY 2024-25

During the celebrations, the officers of the ED were also conferred various awards under the following categories:

1. President’s Medal for Meritorious Service: Shri Abhishek Goyal, former Special Director, ED, was handed over the President’s Medal for Meritorious Service on the occasion of Independence Day, 2024 for his exemplary investigation work.

2. CATEGORY I: Rendering dutiful and exemplary service over a long period of time:

i. Shri Sujit Sadhak, Joint Director, Chennai Zonal Office-II

ii. Shri Suram Chandra, Sepoy, Jammu Sub-Zonal Office

1. CATEGORY II: Displaying exceptional intelligence gathering/investigation skills leading to successful search/seizure and post action:

i. Shri Manoj Mittal, Deputy Director (INT-I), Headquarters Office

ii. Shri Sudhir Kumar, Deputy Director, Gurugram Zonal Office

iii. Shri Chetan Krishna H.G., Deputy Director, Gurugram Zonal Office

iv. Shri Deovrat Jha, Deputy Director, Kolkata Zonal Office-II

v. Shri Gaurav Saini, Assistant Legal Advisor, Headquarters Office

vi. Shri Ravindra Dahiya, Assistant Director, Kolkata Zonal Office-I

vii. Shri Gaurav Dabas, Assistant Director, Co-ordination/ FATF

viii. Shri Anshul Roy, Assistant Director, Jaipur Zonal Office

ix. Shri Bhupesh, Assistant Director, Patna Zonal Office

x. Ms. Suman, Assistant Director, Chandigarh Zonal Office-I

xi. Shri Bhola Ram Jaat, Enforcement Officer, Ahmedabad Zonal Office

xii. Ms. Deepika, Enforcement Officer, Western Regional Office

xiii. Shri Ganpati K., Enforcement Officer, Southern Regional Office

xiv. Shri Sagar Chauhan, Assistant Enforcement Officer, Chennai Zone-II

xv. Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey, Sr. Sepoy, Allahabad Sub-Zonal Office

xvi. Shri Sunil Kumar S.K., Sr. Sepoy, STF, Headquarters Office

xvii. Shri Abhishek Kumar Jha, Sepoy, Headquarters office

2. CATEGORY III: Exhibiting extraordinary valour and courage without paying heed to their safety and security in the line of their duty:

i. Jalandhar Zonal Office: Under the supervision of Shri Ravi Tiwari, Additional Director, the highest number of convictions have been secured by Jalandhar Zonal Office during the Financial year 2024-25.

ii. Hyderabad Zonal Office: Under the supervision of Shri Rohit Anand, Joint Director, the highest number of Prosecution Complaints were filed by Hyderabad Zonal Office during the Financial year 2024-25.

iii. Gurugram Zonal Office: Under the supervision of Shri Navaneet Agrawal, Joint Director, the highest value of properties were provisionally attached by Gurugram Zonal Office during the Financial year 2024-25.

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NB/KMN

Money laundering enforcement under PMLA sees expanded provisional attachments and prosecutions, emphasising evolving ML threats. The Directorate of Enforcement reports intensified use of PMLA investigative and attachment powers in FY 2024-25, including a substantial increase in new investigations, more provisional attachment orders with higher aggregate asset value, the filing of numerous prosecution complaints progressing to trial, and court-approved restitutions. The ED highlights a high conviction ratio in decided cases and warns of evolving money-laundering methods such as cryptocurrency and hawala, urging adaptation of investigatory tools and techniques under PMLA.