After PNB fraud, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill may become a law

Jolted by the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank scam, the Modi government is likely to push for the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill to be made a law soon, to target economic offenders and defaulters like Nirav Modi who anticipate commencement of criminal proceedings or during pendency flee the country.

The law will check economic offences involving non-repayment of bank loans. The Bill contains provisions for setting up of a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to declare a person a fugitive economic offender. The law, which will be applicable in cases where the value of offence is more than Rs 100 crore, will cover any kind of economic offence.

Under the Bill, a fugitive economic offender is a person who has an arrest warrant issued in respect of a scheduled offence, and leaves - or has left - India to avoid criminal prosecution. Economic offenders will get only six weeks to comply with a notice, to escape being declared a fugitive.

The Bill proposes to seize and sell properties of such offenders outside India. A fugitive economic offender will disentitled from bringing forward or defending any civil claim. If the offender returns to India, he or she cannot claim a property.

In September, the law ministry gave concurrence to the draft Bill.

The Bill also proposed to allow the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to file an application for declaration of a fugitive economic offender for confiscation of their assets.

The existing laws under which such offenders are tried include the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, (SARFESI), Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act (RDDBFI) and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

(By Rahul Srivastava; Written by Aninda Dey)

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