Senior IPS officer Karnal Singh was appointed chief of Enforcement Directorate, the agency entrusted with probing money laundering cases. The appointments committee of cabinet has approved the appointment of Singh as director, Enforcement Directorate (ED) till August 31, 2017.Singh, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Union territories cadre, is holding the additional charge of ED chief since August last year. He is at present special director in the ED.
The agency has a mandate to enforce two of the most stringent laws in the country –
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and
- Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)
to check black money and hawala trade cases.
Do you know?
- FOREIGN EXCHANGE MANAGEMENT ACT (FEMA)
- The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) is an Act of the Parliament of India “to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India”.
- It was passed in the winter session of Parliament in 1999, replacing the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
- This act makes offences related to foreign exchange civil offenses. It extends to the whole of India, replacing FERA, which had become incompatible with the pro-liberalization policies of the Government of India.
- It enabled a new foreign exchange management regime consistent with the emerging framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
- It also paved the way for the introduction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which came into effect from 1 July 2005.
- PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT (PMLA)
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prevent money-laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from money-laundering.
- PMLA and the Rules notified there under came into force with effect from July 1, 2005.
- The Act and Rules notified there under impose obligation on banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information in prescribed form to Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND).
