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The Union Cabinet on Saturday gave its nod for a Finance Ministry proposal to promulgate the 'Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018'.
This Ordinance will lay down the measures to empower Indian authorities to attach and confiscate proceeds of crime associated with economic offenders and the properties of the economic offenders, sources said.
This is expected to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, they added.
The Ordinance 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.
This would also help the banks and other financial institutions to achieve higher recovery from financial defaults committed by such fugitive economic offenders, improving the financial health of such institutions.
Fugitive economic offender
The Ordinance makes provision 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 scheduled offences and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.
Scheduled offences refers to a list of economic offences contained in the schedule to this Ordinance.
Applies to offences over Rs 100 cr
To ensure that Courts are not over burdened with such cases, only those cases where the total value involved in such offences is Rs 100 crore or more is within the purview of this Ordinance.
The Ordinance among other things provides for making an application before the Special Court for declaration that an individual is a fugitive economic offender.
It provides for attachment of the property of a fugitive economic offender and proceeds of crime. Also, the property of an individual declared as a fugitive economic offender can now be confiscated. The fugitive economic offender will be disentitled from defending any civil claim.
Also, an administrator could be appointed to manage and dispose of the confiscated property under the Act.
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