Bill in Parl next month to tackle fugitive economic offenders

NEW DELHI: The Government has readied a legislation to be introduced in the second half of Parliament's budget session starting on March 5 to confiscate and sell assets of the economic offenders fleeing from the country to settle the creditors' due of Rs 100 crore or more.

The Bill christened as the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill was drafted eight months ago, much before the Nirav Modi scam came to light. It was even cleared by the Law Ministry last September, but the Government felt urgency to get it passed at the earliest to tackle not only those fleeing after swallowing banks' money but also those defrauding the people and running away to the foreign countries to escape law of the land.

The draft bill was prepared in terms of an announcement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the budget speech in February last year that a legal step is in the offing to seize assets of the economic offenders who escape to foreign countries to get away from the law of the land.

The Bill provides for measures to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, thereby preserving the sanctity of the rule of law in India.

"Fugitive economic offender means any individual against whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a scheduled offence has been issued by any court in India, who leaves or has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution; or refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution," says the Bill.

It envisages that the Enforcement Directorate will be authorised to start the proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It also has a provision that will enable repayment of dues to creditors by disposing off assets that have been seized, in an instance where the accused offender continues to escape from being prosecuted.

The Bill will be applicable to several financial and allied offences, stipulated under the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, Customs Act, Companies Act, Limited Liability Partnership Act and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The proposed law is significant in light of reports of the recent bank frauds allegedly committed by billionaires such as jeweler Nirav Modi and his family members who are now overseas as well as liquor baron Vijay Mallya who is engaged in legal battle in the United Kingdom to avoid his return to India.