69th Foundation Day of ED | 05 May 2025

Source: PIB 

The 69^th Foundation Day of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), held in New Delhi, reaffirmed the agency’s pivotal role in combating economic offences and money laundering, as India strives toward the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. 

• ED: Established on 1st May 1956, as the 'Enforcement Unit' under the Department of Economic Affairs to tackle violations of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1947, and renamed as the Enforcement Directorate in 1957. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi. 
  • Transferred to the Department of Revenue in 1960, the ED now functions under the Union Ministry of Finance, enforcing the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA), and civil provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). 
  • The ED is headed by a Director (not below the rank of Additional Secretary, to the Government of India). 
  • Core functions of ED include curbing money laundering, financing of terrorism, and organised crime, ensuring economic security. 
• Achievements of ED: In FY 2024–25, the ED issued provisional attachment orders worth Rs 30,036 crore, reflecting a 44% increase in number and a 141% increase in value over 2023–24. 
  • As of 2025, the total value of assets under provisional attachment stood at Rs 15.46 lakh crore. 
  • Between 2014 and 2024, ED initiated around 5,000 new PMLA investigations, showcasing a significant increase in enforcement activities.