President attends "Enforcement Day" function, says law and order should be respected

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday attended the "Enforcement Day" function organized by Enforcement Directorate on the occasion of its foundation day at Vigyan Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the cornerstone of any democracy is the respect for law and order in that country, including compliance to the economic laws.

"It is essential for economic activities to be in accordance with the legal fram---ework and national priorities. The Enforcement Directorate has played a historical role in orderly development and maintenance of the foreign exchange market. The Directorate should continue to ensure that the external trade is facilitated, and investment environment is stimulated by sifting the genuine foreign exchange transactions from those which are fraudulent and undesirable," said Mukherjee.

The President also said that effective measures against Money Laundering and Terror Financing are essential in today's global economic and security environment, and these are rightly being addressed on priority by most of the countries.

He stated that such measures also foster a more business friendly setting and facilitate legitimate investments and financial flows. India too has put in place a strong Anti Money Laundering legislation, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Mukherjee asserted that that the process of globalisation and rapid advances in information and communications technology has shrunk the world.

"Money can nowadays move very quickly across national borders. To stay ahead of the curve, the Enforcement Directorate should develop expertise in financial investigations and detection of cross border flows. The Directorate should also look at adopting state of the art technology in relevant areas such as communications, technical infrastructure and computer forensics. The Enforcement Directorate has been carrying out sensitive work, which requires a high degree of responsibility and confidentiality. The Enforcement Directorate should get adequate resources in terms of money and manpower, technology and legal expertise, so that it can effectively fight against money laundering," he added.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Rajiv Takru, Secretary Revenue, Ministry of Finance and Dr. Rajan Katoch, Director of Enforcement.