Union Cabinet approves ordinance for fugitive economic offenders

New Delhi, April 21

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to promulgate the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018.
The Ordinance would lay down the measures to empower authorities to attach and confiscate proceeds of crime associated with economic offenders and the properties of the economic offenders. This is expected to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
Official sources said 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.
The Ordinance makes provisions for a Special Court under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, to declare a person as a Fugitive Economic Offender.
In terms of definition, 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.
Further, in order 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 Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill was presented in Parliament but could not be taken up due to the impasse in the Budget session of Parliament.