Enforcement Directorate
Mandate, Powers, and Legal Framework
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. It enforces two laws: the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). Under the PMLA, the ED has powers to attach and confiscate proceeds of crime, arrest accused persons, conduct searches and seizures, and file prosecution complaints before Special PMLA Courts. The ED's jurisdiction is triggered when a "scheduled offence" (listed in the PMLA Schedule — which includes coal smuggling) generates proceeds; those proceeds become "proceeds of crime" subject to attachment regardless of whether the predicate offence is separately prosecuted.
- ED operates under: PMLA 2002 and FEMA 1999
- PMLA Schedule — lists predicate offences whose proceeds become subject to money laundering prosecution (includes coal theft, corruption, fraud)
- Section 50, PMLA — ED officers have powers equivalent to civil court for summoning, recording statements
- Section 19, PMLA — ED can arrest without warrant if there are "reasons to believe" the person is guilty
- Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India (Supreme Court, 2022) — upheld wide ED powers under PMLA, including reverse burden of proof (accused must prove innocence)
- Special PMLA Courts — designated sessions courts to try PMLA offences
● Tracked since February 18, 2026 · last seen April 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes