Centre brings 15 additional departments under ED’s info sharing arrangement

Posted on by

With the Ministry of Finance notifying up to 15 additional departments, ministries and regulatory agencies, including the CVC, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and the Office of Serious Fraud Investigation along with the CCI, to compulsorily share information with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Almost all aspects of business transactions in India, including foreign trade data, now fall under the scope of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) investigations.

The Department of Revenue, through its notification of November 22, expanded the source of information flow to and from the ED by improving access to case information.

The list of agencies includes the National Investigation Agency, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, State Police Departments, Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of External Affairs, Competition Commission of India, National Intelligence Network, Military Intelligence, Wildlife Crime Bureau and Central Vigilance Commission. others.

The previous ten bodies that were already obligated to share information with the ED include the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Expert opinion

“This would give the emergency department wide powers to obtain information,” said Bharat Chough, a former judge and advocate at the Supreme Court. While a free flow of information is usually desirable for an effective investigation, this information is very broad and gives unfettered powers to the director. executive, without much accountability, regulation or oversight.”

Rinki Jasuga, Associate Partner, Economic Law Practice, said, “With the recent Supreme Court ruling (under review for limited questions), Ed now has broad investigative powers, allowing access to sensitive information. This is a move by the government to allow the CEO to share information with Various agencies will lead to further integration into the business of the aforementioned agencies mentioned in the Gazette notification. In the long run, this move by the government will ultimately be beneficial for the country, especially from a security perspective.”

S Vasudevan, Executive Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan said, “This will enable seamless sharing of information by the ED with other agencies.”