NEW DELHI: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering, has praised India’s asset recovery framework and lauded the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as a “model agency” for its effectiveness in tracing, confiscating, and restituting criminal proceeds.

In its latest report, Asset Recovery Guidance and Best Practices, the Paris-based FATF highlighted India’s success in recovering illicit assets and returning them to victims, noting that the country has enacted strong laws to confiscate properties belonging to fugitives. The FATF described the ED, led by senior IRS officer Rahul Navin, as a “model agency” for its efficiency and coordination in tracing and confiscating criminal proceeds.

The report also outlines how countries can strengthen their systems to trace, freeze, manage, and return proceeds of crime. It states that India has played a prominent role in the development of both the revised FATF standards and the new guidance document, having been actively engaged in FATF’s discussions and technical work over the past two years.

According to the FATF, officers from the ED were part of the project teams that drafted the revised recommendations and guidance, and they participated extensively in the working group and plenary meetings where these were negotiated.

Quoting the FATF report, the ED said in a statement: “The report outlines practical measures for policymakers and practitioners to identify, trace, freeze, manage, confiscate, and return assets derived from criminal activity. The guidance serves as a benchmark for countries to enhance their national frameworks and align with emerging best practices.”