Enforcement Directorate, I-T department set to get more powers

Proposed amendment to PMLA could expedite recovery process

After providing more powers to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to tackle the bad loan problem in the banking industry, the Centre is likely to empower the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (I-T) Department to auction assets of defaulters or those engaged in money laundering.

Such a move could help in expediting the recovery process in cases where investors have lost thousands of crores of rupees.

The Centre might introduce provisions in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to enable the ED or the I-T department to auction attached assets soon after filing the chargesheet or