Enforcement Directorate back into limelight in 2009
High profile economic offences, particularly the alleged money-laundering scam against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and the multi-crore Satyam scam, kept the Enforcement Directorate on its toes all through 2009.
The ED hogged the media headlines for days together in connection with the multi crore illegal investments and hawala case against Koda and his former cabinet colleagues.
In another feather in its cap, the Directorate nabbed a businessman, Naresh Jain, an alleged associate of Dawood Ibrahim in connection with a hawala racket.
Jain, who is accused of running a hawala network of over Rs 5,000 crore, was first booked under Foreign Exchange Management Act and later arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a joint operation with the ED.
Arrested in Dubai two years back in a coordinated operation with the US and European security agencies, Jain is also being probed for his alleged links with international terrorist and India's most wanted Dawood Ibrahim.
As various agencies probed the over Rs 13,000 crore Satyam scam, the Directorate went ahead and attached close to 285 properties worth over Rs 1,000 crore of Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju, his relatives and others on the charge of money laundering.
The ED worked in close coordination with the Income Tax department, state vigilance departments, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Narcotics Control Bureau in order to crack various cases.
Another case the agency handled during the year was the alleged FDI violations of reality major Emmar MGF.
The Directorate searched 13 premises of the firm, which is constructing the 2010 Commonwealth Games village in the national capital, at a time when the firm was getting ready for an IPO worth Rs 3,850 crore.
US-based Yum Restaurants, which owns the franchise of KFC and Pizza Hut in India, too found itself in the soup after it came under ED scanner for allegedly failing to bring in Rs 390 crore (USD 80 million) foreign investment in the country after getting prior government approval.
In the case of Pune-based stud farm owner Hassan Ali Khan, the ED had acted in 2008 for alleged FEMA violations to the tune of over Rs.39,000 crore, but investigations are going on at a snail's pace.