New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "strengthened" and gave more powers to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to cure the "cancer" of money laundering, corporate fraud and corruption, not to target any entity as alleged by a certain "ecosystem" in the country.

Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Finance, called the central agency the "nation's shield against financial crimes," stating that it has not only "lived up" to the trust successive governments reposed in it but has also set "new standards".

He said the ED's name is "respected" not only in India but also at various global forums including the FATF which praised its investigative skills.

The minister spoke during the 70th 'ED Day' event held here. The agency was established on this day in 1956.

A host of opposition parties have alleged that the ED is "a tool of the BJP-led central government" and being used to "target" them.

"In the last few years ED has been in the news the most. In its formative years, ED implemented the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (now repealed) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act. Since then, there has been an unprecedented enhancement in its capabilities and work efficiency." "Because the Indian government trusted the ED, it was tasked with implementing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (in 2005)," Chaudhary said in his speech delivered in Hindi.

He said there was an "ecosystem" in the country that found "problems" in every solution.

"Whatever you do, such people start getting troubled. Respected PM Modiji took the reins of the country in 2014 and began taking tough decisions in the national interest; since then, the foundations of this ecosystem have been shaken," he said.

He said "such people" keep "crying" that Modi has given "too much" power to the ED but these are "half-truths".

"The truth is that these powers were given to the ED to crush financial crimes and not to target someone. The question is: why were these powers essential?", Chaudhary asked.

He said this was essential because crimes like money laundering, hawala, possession of benami assets, corporate fraud and terror funding were "increasing" in the country. This was due to black money being sent to foreign shores, scams occurring through banks, and the common person's money ending up in the pockets of a few.

"Such crimes are no less than cancer for the nation, society and the common man and we know cancer cannot be treated with a sweet pill. Respected PM Modi ji wants results and therefore the ED was strengthened more than it was earlier," the MoS said.

"I want to ask some people if it's wrong to dream of a corruption-free India, if bringing back money looted in bank frauds is wrong, and if stopping the funding of terrorism is wrong? "ED is the nation's shield against financial crime. This law (PMLA) belongs not to one government but to the entire country," he said.

The minister added that PM Modi has "zero tolerance" for corruption, irrespective of how powerful someone is. "If someone has looted the country's money, then all are equal before the law," he said adding all "fugitives" would be brought back to the country.

ED, he said, was given the power to "save" the country, to "save" the common man's money and to ensure India's economic security.

"Respected Pradhan Mantri ji takes decisions in the country's interest without caring for criticism," Chaudhary said.

The minister greeted the ED officers on their special day and lauded their "dedication" "courage" and "devotion" to duty.

Chaudhary cited the action undertaken by the ED under the anti-money laundering law as he said that by the close of the last financial year (March 31, 2026), the agency had attached assets worth Rs 2.36 lakh crore.

One-fourth of this attachment, which is Rs 63,000 crore, has been "restored" to its legitimate owners, such as banks, investors and home buyers.

The ED deserves applause for this work, he said.

"Modiji is sensitive towards people's rights and strongly holds his thoughts on this issue.

"All probe agencies have the primary duty to ensure prompt and complete justice," Chaudhary said, adding that the ED has "realised" this vision of the PM by restoring assets worth thousands of crores of rupees to those who were cheated.

He asked the ED and other investigative agencies to do their job "without bias," telling them that filing chargesheets in court on time was "important".

The ED is focusing especially on this (chargesheets) and I was told that in the 2025-26 fiscal year, it filed twice the number of charge sheets, he said.

Chaudhary also said that his government has taken some "important" steps in the last 12 years to improve bank management and balance sheets.

NPA of banks was a "big challenge," which the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) has helped handle. ED has investigated many such cases and played an important role.

The minister awarded several ED officials during the event for doing good work in a variety of roles. PTI NES NB NB

Anti-money laundering enforcement strengthened to curb financial crimes, protect common money, and ensure bias-free investigation. The Enforcement Directorate's expanded powers under the anti-money laundering framework are presented as a response to money laundering, hawala, benami assets, corporate fraud and terror funding, and not as a tool to target any person. The account stresses zero tolerance for corruption, equal application of law, bias-free investigation, timely filing of chargesheets, and asset attachment and restoration to legitimate owners such as banks, investors and home buyers.