11 ED Officers Faced Bribery Charges in 5 Years, Union Minister Reveals
New Delhi: The Union government informed Parliament on Tuesday of significant reports concerning bribery allegations against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.
Over the past five years, 11 ED officers have been arrested, charged, or formally accused of soliciting or accepting bribes, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated. This information came as a written response to a question posed by CPI(M) MP A A Rahim.
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“No instance has been disclosed in annual reports of the last five years of Ministry of Finance,” the Minister further revealed.
Meanwhile, the central government affirmed that a monitoring mechanism is in place to ensure that complainants face no prejudice in pending ED investigations, even when allegations are levelled against ED officers.
As per Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) rules, the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the financial probe agency examines all vigilance complaints. Subsequently, all complaints are sent directly to the CVO for necessary action.
Furthermore, ED officers in field offices are strictly prohibited from investigating complaints they receive, and have to forward them immediately to the CVO, the Minister explained.
“In cases where complainants wish to maintain additional confidentiality, complaints can be filed under the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers (PIDPI) Resolution, 2004,” Minister said.
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If the CVC forwards a PIDPI complaint, the CVO does not need to verify the complainant’s identity since the commission had already handled that verification before sending the complaint.
Two months ago, Kerala witnessed the beginning of a high-stakes conflict between the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the state’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). The agencies clashed over a vigilance case in which an ED official and middlemen were accused of taking a ₹2 crore bribe to settle cases. The investigation is ongoing, and the clash between both agencies is further intensifying.
