New Delhi, 15 September (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that the Central Government has approved the agency’s long-pending cadre restructuring, under which the number of its sanctioned posts will increase by 60 percent. Following the restructuring, the ED’s sanctioned strength will rise from 2,029 to 3,256 posts.

The ED made the announcement in a press release issued after the 36th Quarterly Conference of Regional Officers (QCRO), held on September 14 and 15 at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bengaluru. The conference was chaired by the Director of the ED and attended by senior officials from the agency’s headquarters and various regional offices.

According to the ED, the cadre restructuring will expand the agency’s organisational framework. Under the new structure, 50 zones will be established for matters related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), while five dedicated zones for the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) will be established in Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The number of the Directorate’s functional units will also be increased from 131 to 241. The new structure is targeted to be implemented from January 1, 2027.

At the conference, the ED Director instructed officials to expedite investigations into economic offences, bank fraud, builder-buyer fraud, cases related to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), and cybercrime. He also stressed the need for the early disposal of pending cases and an improvement in conviction rates.

It was also decided at the conference that each zone would identify at least 10 significant cases and endeavour to take their trials to the final stage within six to eight months. Priority would also be accorded to the process of returning assets acquired through criminal activities to the genuine victims.

The ED said that so far, assets worth more than Rs. 73,800 crore in 76 cases have been identified or transferred as part of the process of restitution to victims. The conference also discussed measures to strengthen investigative capabilities in areas including technology, cyber forensics, artificial intelligence, international cooperation and cryptocurrency-related crimes.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar