ED completely independent, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as agency allegedly being used as political tool

 

The Finance Minister was speaking at a media briefing on her official US visit.

• The Finance Minister also talked about the G20 challenges caused by geopolitical tensions - and how India plans to navigate this environment.

Finance Nirmala Sitharaman defended the actions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on private capital and civil societies and denied that it was being used as a political weapon.

"The ED is completely independent in what it does.

He said, “It is an agency that pursues predicament crimes… there are examples that stand out so much and if the ED goes there, it is because of some prima facie evidence in their hands.”

The Finance Minister was speaking at a media briefing on her official US visit.

Responding to the query on the ED and the Income Tax Department that these institutions have been used by sections of private capital as well as civil societies, he said, "The first offense has already been taken up by some other agency, whether Be it CBI or any other agency and it is compelled that ED comes into picture. ED doesn't appear at first. There are instances which stand out so much and if ED goes there, it is some first in their hands This is due to the prima facie evidence and some of them have been covered by the media - the amount of money confiscated, gold and jewelery seized. They have to take action."

The Finance Minister also talked about the G20 challenges caused by geopolitical tensions - and how India plans to navigate this environment.

“We discussed with many G20 members, and during the meetings, this whole year the concern about – Indonesia has gone through a very difficult Presidency, even in this meeting I can say, no meeting – Washington DC, G20 FMCGB couldn't come up with a release at all. They all came with some chair statement. I really appreciate all the delegation officials for the overnight work they did to achieve something But, still, the release was not possible at all," she said.

Speaking of matters to be brought up at the G20, she said, "We want to bring matters related to cryptocurrencies to the table of the G20 so that members can discuss it and arrive at a Framework or SOP at a global level, with countries having technical There could be a well-driven regulatory framework."

Speaking about India's presidency of the G20, he said, "We are taking the presidency at a time when there are so many challenges, we have to work closely with the membership to see how we can do the whole thing in the best possible way." You can navigate through.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held 24 bilateral meetings in the US during her official visit to the US.

“There were 24 bilaterals, one was, of course, the FMCGB, at the formal breakfast that we organized, then the FMCGB of the G20, an IMFC breakfast, an IMFC full, a DC dinner, a disciplinary and of course with Indian industries The meeting and the SBI meeting, then the FICCI representative met me. Separately, of course, the Indian Ambassador hosted a meeting where there were some key policy makers from the US administration. Also, it is important to recognize that the Secretaries and The Chief Economic Advisor has held 25 meetings with his counterparts and one-on-one meetings with credit rating agencies. Additional Secretary Rajat Mishra attended the annual plenary meeting," Sitharaman said.

He also met World Bank President David Malpass in Washington today. The two leaders discussed various issues including India's #G20 Presidency, improving the capital adequacy framework of MDBs, addressing debt vulnerabilities and enhancing WBG's engagement with India through Knowledge Exchange and MIGA.

The Finance Ministry tweeted, "Finance Minister Smt @nsitharaman thanks Shri @DavidMalpassWBG for the productive development committee meeting and extended support to India especially in raising the single borrower limit in the last two years."

The Finance Minister mentioned that the World Bank has been a valuable partner of the G20 since its inception and India looks forward to closing cooperation with the World Bank during the upcoming G20 Presidency.