NEW DELHI: Foreign interference and illicit funding for anti-national activities were identified as one of the priority investigation areas by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at a zonal meeting held in Assam. The agency directed its teams across the country to closely scrutinise suspicious cross-border financial flows that may be used for "unlawful narrative building and destabilising activities."
The directive came at the agency's 34th Quarterly Conference of Zonal Officers (QCZO), held from February 19 to 21, 2026, in Guwahati in Assam. The three-day conference, chaired by the ED Director Rahul Navin and attended by all senior officers and field formations across the country, covered a wide range of operational and strategic priorities ahead of the financial year close.
However, the explicit flagging of foreign-funded anti-national activities as a focus area stands out as one of the most significant directives to emerge from the conference. As per an ED statement, the agency has directed officers to examine suspicious cross-border financial flows for such activities and "wherever legally sustainable, register appropriate cases to address such threats within the statutory framework."
Further, as the financial year is to close, the agency has set a target of filing 500 prosecution complaints in money-laundering cases before March 31. "All field formations were urged to make concerted efforts to achieve the same, while also preparing for an enhanced target in the next financial year,” the agency said in the statement.
Navin made clear that the push to increase prosecution complaints reflects the agency's broader objective of "proactively concluding long-pending investigations and systematically reducing the lifecycle of new investigations to a reasonable timeframe of one to two years, except in exceptionally complex cases."
The Guwahati conference also identified several other priority areas such as tracking of foreign assets. “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,” the statement said.
Officers were also directed to examine the manipulation of trade invoices and undervaluation of imports used to disguise illicit capital outflows through trade-based money laundering channels.
The agency flagged the growing menace of digital arrest scams and cyber-enabled financial frauds, directing zones to prioritise investigation of cases involving organised syndicates and cross-border elements. “Dismantling financial networks behind such platforms, including payment gateways, mule accounts, and offshore operators,” the agency said.
The financial networks of drug traffickers and hawala linkages figured prominently in the deliberations, particularly given the North Eastern Region's proximity to the Myanmar and Bangladesh borders. “The nexus between narcotics trafficking and money laundering, and highlighting the vision of the Government for Nasha Mukt Bharat,” the agency said.