With over Rs 1,750 crore worth of assets seized under money laundering laws in the last fiscal year (2013-14), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said it recorded its "best-ever performance" in critical investigations done by the agency so far.
The anti-money laundering (under Prevention of Money Laundering Act) and foreign exchange violations (under Foreign Exchange Management Act) has also made the maximum number of prosecutions against offenders of these laws during financial year 2013-14.
The ED was established in 1956 to probe cases of illegal foreign funds and other financial crimes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) which was earlier known as FERA.
"We have succeed in recording our best-ever performance in investigations so far. In 2013-14, we were able to complete 1,836 FEMA and PMLA investigations, as against 1,288 cases in the preceding year, with a mere 5 per cent increase in staff in the same period," ED director Rajan Katoch said during an event to mark the second 'Enforcement Day' in New Delhi.
"65 attachments were effected in 2012-13, this has been doubled to 127 in 2013-14, with the total value of assets attached during the year of Rs 1,759 crore," he said.
The ED chief, who has brought in some very stringent institutional norms in the agency since he assumed the top post two years ago, said the ED's aim was to "build public confidence and establish a certain measure of credibility and trust" amongst the common man.
"We aim to enforce these laws without fear or favour," he said.
He, however, said the agency under the Ministry of Finance was "seriously short of manpower" with only about one-third of 2,064 positions being filled.
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