Two IRS Officers, Kumar Ashish and Venkatesh M, Posted to ED as Deputy Directors

Kumar Ashish and Venkatesh M, both 2019-batch officers of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), have been posted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as Deputy Directors on deputation for a period of three years. The Enforcement Directorate is the Central agency responsible for investigating financial crimes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and it draws a large share of its investigating officers on deputation from the IRS, both from the Customs and Indirect Taxes wing and the Income Tax wing. A Deputy Director's post involves direct handling of money-laundering and foreign-exchange violation cases, including search, seizure and prosecution complaint work. Both officers belong to the IRS (C&IT) cadre, which trains officers in customs enforcement, GST administration and indirect tax investigation before they typically move into specialised roles such as the ED, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or the Directorate General of GST Intelligence. A three-year deputation term is standard for Deputy Director-level postings at the agency. Deputation to the ED is considered a sought-after assignment within the IRS cadre given the agency's expanded investigative footprint in recent years, particularly in cases involving bank fraud, shell companies and cross-border financial flows. The postings add to the agency's Deputy Director-level strength at a time when the ED has been expanding its zonal and sub-zonal office network to handle a rising caseload of PMLA and FEMA investigations across states. Deputy Directors at the ED typically report to Joint Directors and Additional Directors who head zonal offices, and are responsible for case-level investigation work including the recording of statements, attachment of assets and filing of prosecution complaints before the Special PMLA courts. Both officers join the agency with immediate effect for a three-year deputation tenure, according to the posting order.