INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Ram Nath Kovind gave the assent last night
within hours of it being cleared by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill was
introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 12, but could not be taken up for discussion and passage due to the logjam in parliament over various
The ordinance seeks to confiscate properties of economic offenders like diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who have left the country to avoid
facing criminal prosecution.The provisions of the ordinance will apply for economic offenders who refuse to return, persons against whom an
arrest warrant has been issued for a scheduled offence as well as willful bank loan defaulters with outstanding of over Rs 100 crore.It
provides for confiscating assets even without a conviction and paying off lenders by selling off the fugitive's properties.Such economic
offenders will be tried under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The ordinance defines a fugitive economic offender as a person
against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for committing offence like counterfeiting government stamps or currency, cheque dishonour
for insufficiency of funds, money laundering, and transactions defrauding creditors.A fugitive economic offender is one who has left the
(appointed under the PMLA, 2002) may file an application before a special court (designated under the 2002 Act) to declare a person as a
fugitive economic offender.The application will contain the reasons to believe that an individual is a fugitive economic offender.Besides,
the application will have information about his whereabouts, a list of properties believed to be proceeds of a crime for which confiscation
is sought, a list of benami properties or foreign properties for which confiscation is sought, and a list of persons having an interest in
these properties.Upon receiving the application, the special court will issue a notice to the individual, requiring him to appear at a
specified place within six weeks
If the person appears at the specified place, the special court will terminate its proceedings under the provisions of the Bill.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.Appeals against the orders of the special court will lie before the High Court.
