New Delhi: Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday promulgated an ordinance on fugitive economic offenders, in order to ensure that cases like Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya don’t appear again. To become operational, the ordinance will need the presidential nod.
With the promulgation of the ordinance, properties and assets of economic offenders like laon defaulters who flee the country will be confiscated by the government.
The ordinance is for economic offenders who refuse to return, persons against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for a scheduled offense as well as wilful bank loan defaulters with outstanding of over Rs 100 crore. The authorities can confiscate and sell properties of such offenders without even conviction. A fugitive economic offender is one who has left the country to avoid facing prosecution or refuses to return to face prosecution.
Any property belonging to the fugitive economic offender may provisionally be attached without the prior permission of the special court, provided that an application is filed before the court within 30 days.
