India’s Enforcement Directorate plans to cut the economic-crime investigation lifecycle from four to five years to about 18 months, with the restructuring scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027. The plan, discussed at the ED’s 36th Quarterly Conference of Zonal Officers at IIM Bangalore on September 14-15, includes expanding sanctioned posts from 2,029 to 3,256, increasing PMLA zones to 50 and creating five dedicated FEMA zones. The agency is also sharpening its focus on crypto-related crime, examining DeFi, stablecoins, cross-chain transfers, mixers, privacy coins, NFT wash trading and methods used to obscure blockchain transactions. ED Director Rahul Navin chaired the programme, which covered artificial intelligence, data analytics, deepfakes, cyber threats, international cooperation and asset recovery. The agency said it wants to shift from a case-centred model toward an ecosystem-centred approach, while linking faster investigations to trial monitoring, interagency coordination and restitution. Attached and confiscated asset restitution has crossed ₹73,800 crore across 76 cases. The push comes as Indian authorities investigate alleged crypto-related fraud, including the BTCFUND case, the FQL app matter and a Bengaluru surgeon’s reported ₹4.47 crore loss.