Context
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over ? 2 crores of a Jharkhand-based Maoist operative as part of a money-laundering probe
About Enforcement Directorate (ED)
- The Directorate of Enforcement was established in 1956 with its Headquarters in New Delhi.
- It is responsible for enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and certain provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
- The Directorate is under the administrative control of the Department of Revenue for operational purposes; the policy aspects of the FEMA, its legislation, and its amendments are within the purview of the Department of Economic Affairs
Other central law enforcement agencies related to finance
Financial Intelligence Unit
- An independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.
- It is a non-statutory body.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is the apex intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to a violation of the Customs Act.
Central Economic Intelligence Bureau
- Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CIEB) was set up to coordinate and strengthen the intelligence gathering activities related to the enforcement of economic laws.
- It maintains databases on economic offenders and offenses
- The CEIB functions as:
- the Secretariat for the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC)
- coordinator and repository of economic intelligence (ECOINT)
- Administers the COFEPOSA Act 1974 at Central Government Level
- Acts as a think tank and studies and analyses macro-level economic activities
