Govt removes Enforcement Directorate Special Director Vineet Agarwal

The Centre on Tuesday removed Vineet Agarwal, Mumbai-based Special Director of the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly exceeding his brief by relieving Joint Director Satyabrata Kumar without following a proper procedure.

Nirav Modi (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: In an unusual move, the tenure of Special Director in Enforcement Directorate Vineet Agarwal has been curtailed by the government with immediate effect. The government order issued on Tuesday said Vineet Agarwal, Special Director, Enforcement, Mumbai is "hereby relieved with effect from April 16, 2019 and his services are placed at the disposal of Ministry of Home Affairs." The Finance Ministry order had sanction of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.  He had joined the ED in January 2017 for five-year tenure. The Centre on Tuesday removed Vineet Agarwal, Mumbai-based Special Director of the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly exceeding his brief by relieving Joint Director Satyabrata Kumar without following a proper procedure. Kumar was in London for handling PNB fraud kingpin Nirav Modi’s bail and has been currently handling the case against fugitive Vijay Mallya. A special director is only empowered to transfer or alter the charge of an official up to the level of an assistant director, and not of a joint director.