The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is moving to end cases registered under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) of 1973, repealed over 25 years ago in 1998. About 400-500 cases with pending adjudication before various courts are being identified for quick closure. Officials told PTI that these cases involve individuals who have died or gone missing, or assets that no longer exist. The goal is to complete this process by the first quarter of 2026. FERA, which carried criminal penalties, was replaced by the civil-focused Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in 1999, effective from June 2000. The last show cause notices under FERA were issued in May 2002. ED Director Rahul Navin recently urged officers to "fast-track" these old cases to ensure "completion of lifecycle" in all forums. This move will end over 20 years of pending litigation from the FERA era. FERA's roots trace back to a 1947 law, with the ED first set up in 1956 under the Department of Economic Affairs to enforce it. The transition from FERA to FEMA aligned with India's economic liberalization, shifting focus from strict regulation to management of foreign exchange. Under FEMA, most violations are civil offenses, unlike FERA’s criminal approach.