Rahul Navin appointed as new director of Enforcement Directorate for two years

The government on Wednesday appointed acting Enforcement Directorate chief Rahul Navin as full-time director of the anti-money laundering agency for two years.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, in a statement dated August 14, confirmed his appointment as the new Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement.

His appointment will take effect from the date he assumes charge of the position and will last for a period of two years or until further orders are issued.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Rahul Navin, IRS (IT:93074), Special Director, ED as Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the DoPT statement read.

Navin, who is currently serving as acting Director at the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from the 1993 batch.

Prior to his appointment as director, Navin, 57, had served as the Special Director of ED since November 2019. He was appointed acting Director after Sanjay Kumar Mishra's tenure ended on September 15, 2023.

Mishra was appointed by the government as the ED Director in 2018 for a two-year tenure, but the government kept extending his tenure with the help of procedural changes. He stepped down in September 2023 following the Supreme Court-mandated deadline for his tenure.

The new ED director is considered an expert in international taxation matters. During his tenure as acting ED Director, saw the high-profile arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in separate money laundering cases.

The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated to investigate financial crimes under two criminal laws — the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) — apart from the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).