ED executed nearly 90% international assistance requests since April 2024: Director

The data was highlighted during the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Asset Recovery Interagency Network-Asia Pacific (ARIN-AP), being held in New Delhi from September 28 to October 1 under India's presidency of the regional network.

The Enforcement Directorate has executed nearly 90 per cent of international assistance requests received by it since April 2024, highlighting the growing role of cross-border cooperation in investigations involving proceeds of crime, ED Director Rahul Navin said on Monday. The data was highlighted during the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Asset Recovery Interagency Network-Asia Pacific (ARIN-AP), being held in New Delhi from September 28 to October 1 under India's presidency of the regional network.

Speaking at the event, the ED Director said, "Since April 2024, the Directorate has executed nearly 90 per cent of the assistance requests received in full or in part." The Director also noted that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 enables India to seek the restraint and confiscation of assets located abroad and to proceed against property of equivalent value, so that the movement of funds offshore does not by itself defeat recovery.

He also highlighted the Directorate’s contribution as a member of the project team that developed the Asset Recovery Guidance and Best Practices of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and its engagement in the GlobE Network and the anti-corruption working groups of the G20 and BRICS. On the way ahead, the Director set out two priorities for the Network under India’s Presidency: speed of response to requests, and completion of cases.

He proposed that, where members are able to share the information, the Network also track the number of cases in which assets were actually confiscated and returned following cooperation through ARIN-AP. Noting that, notwithstanding the commitment of practitioners, international estimates indicate that the proportion of the proceeds of crime ultimately confiscated is well below optimal, the Director asked members to reflect on the reasons.

Navin observed that practitioners are rightly careful, but can become so absorbed in the nuances of domestic law and that some obstacles may be more bureaucratic rather than genuine legal impediments. He urged members to consider which difficulties in their cases are truly required by law and which can be resolved through a different approach, adding that legal systems differ but the purpose does not, which is to take the fruits of crime out of the hands of criminals.

The meeting is being hosted by the ED, which is India's nodal agency for ARIN-AP. The high execution rate of international assistance requests reflects the agency's increasing engagement with foreign counterparts in cases involving assets, funds and other proceeds linked to criminal activities located outside India.

Cross-border investigations often require agencies to obtain information, trace assets and seek assistance from jurisdictions where proceeds of crime may have been transferred or concealed. The ARIN-AP meeting brings together representatives of member countries and agencies to discuss mechanisms for strengthening such cooperation and improving the recovery of illicit assets.

The network serves as a platform for informal cooperation and exchange of information among asset-recovery practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region. The four-day meeting is also expected to provide an opportunity for participating agencies to discuss challenges in asset tracing, freezing, confiscation and repatriation, besides sharing best practices in international asset recovery.

ARIN-AP is an informal network of law enforcement and judicial contact points engaged in all aspects of recovering the proceeds of crime in the Asia-Pacific region. Launched in Korea in November 2013 and modelled on the CARIN network of Europe, it seeks to improve the effectiveness of members’ efforts to deprive criminals of illicit profits through the direct and rapid exchange of information and good practice, including with jurisdictions with which no mutual legal assistance treaty exists. It covers the proceeds of all crimes, and each member nominates two contact points, one from a law enforcement agency and one from a judicial or prosecutorial authority. The Network is administered through a Presidency that rotates annually, a Steering Group, and a Secretariat, which the SPO of Korea has served since inception. ARIN-AP presently has 32 member jurisdictions and 10 observers, including INTERPOL, UNODC, the World Bank and sister asset recovery networks from other regions.

The 11th AGM is the first to be hosted by India. India was inducted into the ARIN-AP Steering Group at the Sydney AGM in 2024, where it was also entrusted with the Presidency for 2026. Hosting the Network’s annual meeting and leading it through the year, with the support of the Government as a whole, reflects the standing India has earned in the global asset recovery community, and the Directorate of Enforcement’s growing contribution to international standard-setting, including in the FATF, the GlobE Network, and the G20 and BRICS forums. (ANI)