ED flags eight priority areas, including IBC misuse and cyber fraud

The Enforcement Directorate has identified eight focus areas for coordinated action, including tracking of foreign assets, misuse of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, trade-based money laundering, cyber fraud, illegal online gambling, drug financing, share market manipulation, and foreign interference through illicit funding.

The decision was taken during its 34th quarterly conference of zonal officers in Guwahati from February 19 to 21, headed by ED Director Rahul Navin.

All zonal heads were directed to intensify efforts in tracing and securing proceeds of crime parked abroad, particularly in jurisdictions such as Dubai and Singapore. They were also told to keep a close watch on professional money laundering channels disguised as trade. “Instances of potential collusion between corporate debtors, resolution professionals, members of the Committee of Creditors, and other stakeholders were flagged as areas requiring scrutiny,” said the agency with respect to IBC-related cases.

Given the rise in digital-arrest scams and other forms of cyber fraud, the ED chief asked officials to crack down on organised syndicates and identify cross-border elements. In cases involving illegal betting and online gaming platforms, they were advised to focus on dismantling the linked financial networks, including payment gateways, mule accounts and offshore operators.

The ED will also intensify action against the financial networks of drug traffickers and their “hawala” linkages, money laundering through share market manipulation, and foreign funding channels that may be used for unlawful narrative building, destabilising activities or other anti-national purposes.

“The importance of international cooperation and development of institutional soft power was also highlighted, with emphasis on the ED being a reliable, professional and proactive partner for foreign counterpart agencies...a key theme of the conference was data integrity and consolidation,” the ED said, adding that the target of filing 500 prosecution complaints in the current financial year was also reiterated.

Officials have been asked to leverage mechanisms such as Interpol channels using the Bharatpol portal, financial intelligence exchange through the Egmont framework, and asset-tracing cooperation through networks such as ARIN-AP and the GlobE Network.

During the conference, all zonal offices made detailed presentations. They highlighted enhanced use of intelligence platforms such as NATGRID and FINNET, greater recourse to international cooperation mechanisms and efforts to diversify case typologies in line with emerging risks.

“At the same time, challenges such as delays in sanction for prosecution, non-cooperation by police in some States, limited manpower, logistical constraints in remote regions, lack of digitised land records, pendency in committal of cases, and valuation issues relating to volatile digital assets were discussed,” it said.

A detailed presentation was also made by the Special Director (Adjudication) on the status of erstwhile FERA and the Foreign Exchange Management Act matters across zones. The session reviewed key statistics and reiterated the commitment made in the previous quarterly meet to complete adjudication of all pending FERA cases by March 31, 2026. The presentation also outlined proposed amendments to withdrawal guidelines and the legal framework governing transitional provisions between FERA and FEMA, including the saving clause and limitation aspects under FEMA.

The conference also featured thematic presentations by other national agencies, including the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, Financial Intelligence Unit-India, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, and Narcotics Control Bureau, on related issues to ensure effective inter-agency coordination.