ED asks Centre for 300% more staff as cases rise

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has taken up over twice as many money laundering cases in the past three years (2,723 from 2019-20 to 2021-22) as compared to the previous seven (1,262 from 2012-13 to 2018-19), has asked the Centre to increase its strength by three times and establish offices in every state capital, people familiar with the matter said.

ED, which also looks at foreign exchange law violations, took up 11,420 of these cases in the last three years as compared to 13,473 in the previous seven, according to data provided in the Lok Sabha by Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary.

The agency recently sent a detailed proposal for its cadre restructuring, seeking to treble its workforce from the current 2,100 officers to 6,000, to the department of revenue (DoR) under the Union ministry of finance, the people added, asking not to be identified.

The actual strength of ED is currently around 1,700, which includes all ranks at the top as well as assistant directors, enforcement officers, clerks, sepoys, multi-tasking staff, and stenographers.

ED has also sought to open a zonal office in every state capital; and two in some big states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It currently operates through 21 zonal and 18 subzonal offices across five regions – West, East, Central,South and North, apart from specialized Headquarters Investigation Units (HIUs) and Special Task Forces (STF).

The finance ministry and DoR, under which ED works, did not respond to an email query, but officials confirmed that the agency’s proposal was under consideration.