A first: In one go, 11 ED officers made Joint Director

New Delhi, May 29

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The Centre has promoted 11 Enforcement Directorate-cadre officers to the rank of Joint Director in the federal anti-money laundering agency.

This is the first time that so many cadre officers have been promoted in one go to the Joint Director level, an important position vis-a-vis investigations, official sources said.

Cadre officers had been appointed to the Joint Director post in the past but at one or two positions only, the sources said. The Department of Revenue under the Union Finance Ministry issued an order on Tuesday for promoting 11 officers from the Joint Director rank.

A Joint Director position in the ED envisages supervising investigations related to money laundering and foreign exchange contravention. The agency has over 30 posts of Joint Director, including those at 27 zonal offices across the country. At present, there are only three ED-cadre officers in the Joint Director rank while the remaining posts are occupied by IRS officers who join the organisation on deputation.

The ED is tasked with investigating financial crimes under three laws — the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.