SK Mishra appointed new ED chief; Karnal Singh retires
What's the story
IRS officer Sanjay Kumar Mishra was today appointed the new Chief of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an additional capacity. Mishra has been appointed as the Principal Special Director in the central probe agency and entrusted with the "additional" charge of ED Director for three months. He will take over from incumbent Karnal Singh whose tenure at the agency ends tomorrow. Here's more.
Details
Mishra is an IRS officer of IT department
Mishra is a 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Income Tax cadre. Mishra's appointment as Enforcement Directorate Chief has been made for a period of 3 months, or till the appointment of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier, said an order issued by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
ED chief
Mishra expected to head ED in regular capacity soon
Official sources said Mishra, posted as the Chief Commissioner of the Income Tax department in Delhi at present, has not been impaneled as an Additional Secretary in the central government and hence, has been given the top ED charge in an additional capacity. He is expected to be impaneled soon and subsequently, will head the ED in a regular capacity, they said.
Singh's tenure
Incumbent chief Singh led some high-profile investigation cases in India
The post of ED Director is an Additional Secretary rank post in the Union government. Incumbent ED Chief Karnal Singh, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Union Territories cadre, will complete an over three-year tenure as the ED Director. He had been credited with leading some high-profile investigation cases such as the VVIP helicopters case and the Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya money laundering investigations.
Information
ED attached assets worth over Rs. 30,000cr during Singh's tenure
During Singh's tenure, the ED saw a phenomenal jump in registration of cases, attachment of assets and filing of charge sheets. The ED, during this time, attached assets worth over Rs. 33,563 crore, while these figures for 10 years between 2005-2015 was Rs. 9,003 crore.
Mishra in IT dept
Mishra has worked with Foreign Tax division of CBDT
The new ED chief, Mishra, has worked in various capacities in the IT department and has also served in the Foreign Tax division of the Central Board of Direct Taxes that deals with cases of Indians holding stash abroad. He steered the department's probe in the National Herald case that involves the first-family of the Congress party, the Gandhis, and other important assessment cases.