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Tenure of ED special director who led Nirav, Choksi probes curtailed
Satyabrata Kumar led several high profile money laundering probes including against Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi, former Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has curtailed the tenure of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) special director, Satyabrata Kumar, who for the past 10 years led several high profile money laundering probes including against Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi, former Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and Mahadev Online Book app swindle, according to an order issued last week but made public on Monday.
A 2004-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (customs and indirect taxes), currently posted as the special director of enforcement (SDE) of the federal agency’s eastern region headquartered in Kolkata.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Revenue for curtailment of deputation tenure of Satyabrata Kumar, IRS(C&IT:2004), Special Director of Enforcement, Directorate of Enforcement and his consequent repatriation to his parent cadre with immediate effect,” the ACC order, issued on May 30 stated.
Kumar had joined the ED in 2013 as its joint director in Mumbai and handled high profile cases while heading the Mumbai’s units. He was given an extension in 2022 to serve in the agency till October 2026.
While the exact reason for curtailment of his tenure was not disclosed, officials hinted that Kumar may be given another important assignment at the Centre considering his investigation skills and track-record in handling complex economic offences.
Some of the high profile cases investigated by ED under his command include ₹12,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam involving accused fugitive diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi; the alleged ₹9,200 -crore bank loan cases involving fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s defunct airline firm, Kingfisher Airlines Limited; ED’s alleged money laundering and terror financing cases against the deceased narcotics trafficker, Memon Iqbal Mohammed or Iqbal Mirchi; ED’s PMLA case against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, who is an accused in the Yes Bank-Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) transactions; and the agency’s PMLA probe related to the USD 1 million-plus Mahadev Online Book (MOB) illegal online betting/gaming cases.
Kumar’s team had tracked Nirav Modi in London, long before a UK daily caught up with the absconding diamond trader during a stroll there.
