BENGALURU: In a move that may help redefine the manner in which law enforcement agencies in the country work in silos, the Director, Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Rahul Navin, said there is a “need for a shift in intelligence culture, from a ‘need to know’ basis to a ‘duty to share’ among law enforcement agencies”.
In times where Artificial Intelligence is taking on every aspect of work culture, including investigation, Navin cautioned officers that “even offline deployments of AI carry risks of data leakage and confidential case material must be handled with the utmost care”. He was addressing senior ED officers during the 36th quarterly conference of zonal officers (QCZO) held on September 14 and 15 at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B).
The ED chief also called for course correction and asked the officers to replace “over-deliberation” with “quick and decisive decision-making” in search and enforcement action.
He underscored the need for closer coordination with state police and other law enforcement agencies, unearthing of frauds under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and PMLA, fast-tracking of trials, with identification of at least 10 high-profile cases in each region for conclusion of trial and conviction within six to eight months, aggressive pursuit of restitution of attached and confiscated assets to legitimate victims, and mandatory valuation of all confirmed attached properties by government-approved valuers, with geo-tagging, within six months, along with the taking of constructive possession as core operational thrust areas for the zones.
The three-day conference was chaired by Navin, and attended by all senior officers from headquarters and field formations.
A special session on emerging trends in the crypto ecosystem highlighted the use of decentralised finance protocols and tokenisation of real-world assets without intermediaries, and the operation of hawala networks that convert Rupee funds through domestic brokers into Dollar-pegged stablecoins for seamless cross-border transfer of value.
In his keynote inaugural address, Navin directed all zonal heads to conduct formal cascade briefings in their respective zones down to the level of assistant enforcement officers and to record the proceedings, and said the achievements of the Directorate should be projected through regular press releases and media engagement. He reaffirmed an uncompromising policy of zero tolerance towards corruption within the organisation.
The session workshops were taken by IIMB faculty and international experts, including a special FBI agent attached to the US Embassy in New Delhi, on the future of financial investigation in the context of India’s digital public infrastructure, the use of AI and data analytics in economic crime investigation and the attendant risks of deepfakes and AI-enabled fraud, cyber threats and international cooperation.
The recurring theme across the sessions was the need to move from a case-centred to an ecosystem-centred approach to investigation, to harness technology and data analytics while remaining alive to the risks they carry, and to strengthen institutional capacity, leadership and public projection of the Directorate’s work.