Q. With reference to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), consider the following statements:
1.Under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA), ED has been entrusted with the responsibility of investigating suspected violations of foreign exchange laws and regulations.
2.ED’s powers increased significantly after the enactment of PMLA, 2002 because the act re-empowered ED with the powers of criminal prosecution.
3.ED authorities are not police officers and an inquiry under the Section 50 of the PMLA is not a strict investigation for initiating prosecution.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: D
Notes:
Explanation –
Statement 1 is incorrect. Under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA), ED is mandated to seize the properties of fugitive economic offenders who have fled from India to evade arrest.
Statements 2 and 3 are correct. ED’s powers increased significantly after the enactment of PMLA, 2002 because the act re-empowered ED with the powers of criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court held in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India (2022) that ED authorities are not police officers and an inquiry under the Section 50 of the PMLA is not ‘investigation’ in strict sense of the term for initiating prosecution.
Source: ForumIAS
