The Centre has extended the tenure of the ED director, Rahul Navin, for a year, according to an order issued on Sunday.
The extension comes at a time when the federal probe agency is focusing on restituting attached properties worth millions to the victims, and is investigating sensitive financial crimes.
“The appointments committee of cabinet has approved extension in tenure of Rahul Navin, IRS, as Director of Enforcement, for a period of one year beyond August 13, 2026 to August 13, 2027, including extension in service beyond the date of his superannuation i.e. July 31, 2027 or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” said the government order.
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All about Rahul Navin
The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of 1993 batch, Navin, 59, had become the agency’s interim chief in September 2023. The government appointed him as the full-time chief for a fixed tenure of two years on August 14, 2024. He joined ED as special director in 2019.
During Navin’s tenure, ED has continued and launched several high-profile investigations including those related to the political consultancy firm I-PAC, Reliance Anil Ambani Group, online money gaming companies, All India Trinamool Congress leaders, real-estate developers, human traffickers, etc, but not without facing allegations by the opposition parties that it was a tool used by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to harass its opponents.
{{/usCountry}}During Navin’s tenure, ED has continued and launched several high-profile investigations including those related to the political consultancy firm I-PAC, Reliance Anil Ambani Group, online money gaming companies, All India Trinamool Congress leaders, real-estate developers, human traffickers, etc, but not without facing allegations by the opposition parties that it was a tool used by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to harass its opponents.
{{/usCountry}}As reported by HT earlier, Navin’s tenure has seen ED realigning its strategy by focusing more on its core work - attaching the proceeds of crime so that the offenders cannot enjoy them and subsequently restitute the same to investors or victim banks.
The agency has restituted assets worth over ₹32,000 crore to the victims, out of total attachments worth ₹2.40 lakh crore attached under the prevention of money laundering act or PMLA till date. Most of the property restitution has taken place in the last two years only. Out of ₹32,000 crore assets restored so far, over ₹15,000 crore is linked to fugitives Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
ED has filed 2,396 charge sheets in its 8,851 PMLA cases till date.
Besides PMLA, the ED has also accelerated its action under the 2018 law - fugitive economic offenders (FEO) act, by confiscating assets worth ₹930 crore till date.
In February this year, Navin asked all units of the agency to exercise “caution, fairness and accountability” while conducting money laundering investigations. The ED chief had asked his men to ensure that summons and other statutory notices are issued “judiciously”, based on “clear necessity and proper application of mind”.