New Delhi: In a bid to further tighten its noose against people involved in slush funds and fake currency, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has instructed the law enforcing agencies to improve its capacity to fight against the menace.
A senior government official told ETV Bharat that Shah in a recent meeting with top officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Investigation Agency (NIA) instructed them to improve their capacity to take concrete actions to stop the flow of such funds in the Indian market.
The Home Minister has reportedly suggested to the officials from IB and NIA to work in tandem with all the concerned financial agencies.
Shah has also asked the officials to improve the intelligence sharing mechanism in order to crack down on illegal funds.
It may be mentioned here that in spite of making stronger regulations to act against illegal money flow, the central intelligence agencies are still struggling to bring an end to the menace.
Interestingly, ever since the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started probing financial cases which have international ramifications in connection to India's security, it has arrested several people for their involvement in the illegal money business.
Following an amendment in the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it has been empowered to probe on foreign soil if India's interests are targeted.
Interestingly, NIA on Thursday, filed chargesheet against an accused, Sariful Islam, involved in a fake Indian currency note business. Sariful hails from Malda in West Bengal.
The investigation further revealed that accused Sariful was in contact with Bangladesh-based smugglers and conspirators involved in illicit trafficking in Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).
The NIA has registered 22 cases related to FICN during the last two years. Out of these 22 cases, 12 cases pertain to the seizure of high-quality Indian counterfeit currency.
Moreover, a terror funding and fake currency cell (TFFC) has been constituted in NIA to conduct a focussed investigation of terror funding and fake currency cases.
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