Union Cabinet approves the proposed Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018

The proposed Bill is expected to bring to book absconding offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi who have allegedly refused to return to India from abroad, according to media reports. 

The Bill is expected to help in  laying down measures to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, according to the ministry.

Cases where the total value involved in such offences is Rs.100 crore or more, will come under the purview of this Bill. 

The Bill is expected to re-establish the rule of law with respect to the fugitive economic offenders as they would be forced to return to India to face trial for scheduled offences, according to the Finance ministry.

This will also help banks and other financial institutions to achieve higher recovery from financial defaults committed by such fugitive economic offenders, the ministry said.

It is expected that the special forum to be created for expeditious confiscation of the proceeds of crime, in India or abroad, will coerce the fugitive to return to India to submit to the jurisdiction of Courts in India to face the law in respect of scheduled offences.

Salient features of the Bill:

Application before the Special Court for a declaration that an individual is a fugitive economic offender;
Attachment of the property of a fugitive economic offender;
Issue of a notice by the Special Court to the individual alleged to be a fugitive economic offender;
Confiscation of the property of an individual declared as a fugitive economic offender resulting from the proceeds of crime;
Confiscation of other  property belonging to such offender in India and abroad, including benami property;
Disentitlement of the fugitive economic offender from defending any civil claim; and
An Administrator will be appointed to manage and dispose of the confiscated property under the Act.

According to the ministry, if at any point of time in the course of the proceeding prior to the declaration, however, the alleged Fugitive Economic Offender returns to India and submits to the appropriate jurisdictional Court, proceedings under the proposed Act would cease by law.

All necessary constitutional safeguards in terms of providing hearing to the person through counsel, allowing him time to file a reply, serving notice of summons to him, whether in India or abroad and appeal to the High Court have been provided for.

Further, provision has been made for appointment of an Administrator to manage and dispose of the property in compliance with the provisions of law.

The Finance ministry in its release said that the Bill is being proposed to address the lacunae in the present laws and lay down measures to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

The Bill makes provisions for a Court ('Special Court' under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002) to declare a person as a Fugitive Economic Offender.

A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.

A scheduled offence refers to a list of economic offences contained in the Schedule to this Bill.

The Bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the second the part of the Budget session that starts March 6, according to media reports.