IRS officer Rahul Navin appointed as ED director
Navin, currently posted as special director, was already heading the agency as its in-charge (interim) chief since September last year, when the former director Sanjay Kumar Mishra completed his tenure
New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday appointed Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Rahul Navin as the director of the financial crimes probe agency, Enforcement Directorate (ED), for two years.
Navin, currently posted as special director, was already heading the agency as its in-charge (interim) chief since September last year, when the former director Sanjay Kumar Mishra completed his tenure.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Rahul Navin, IRS Special Director, ED, as Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” stated an order issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT).
The ACC is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with union home minister Amit Shah as its member.
Navin, 57, an officer of the 1993 batch, had joined the ED in November 2019.
During Navin’s tenure as acting chief since September last year, the agency has made several high-profile arrests under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including those of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh; K Kavitha (BRS leader) in the excise policy-related irregularities; and the chief minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, in an alleged land-grabbing case.
Soren and Singh are currently out on bail.
The agency also attached properties worth ₹751 crore in its probe against Congress-run National Herald newspaper, in which Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are under the scanner.
As reported by HT earlier this week, the agency is now planning to call Rahul Gandhi for questioning soon in the case as it wants to conclude the probe.