The Enforcement Directorate, on Monday, got a shot in the arm in its money laundering investigations as a Delhi court declared Sterling Biotech promoters—Sandesara brothers—as “fugitive economic offenders” under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
When a person is declared a fugitive economic offender, the government agencies can confiscate their properties in India and abroad to recover the losses. The court said the ED has successfully pleaded and proved that the accused are fugitive economic offenders and declared Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara, Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Jayantilal Sandesra and Hiteshkumar Narendrabhai Patel as fugitive economic offenders.
The court also said the accused should come and face trial in the pending criminal proceedings against them instead of attempting to thwart the proceedings. The court was responding to the ED application for declaration of the accused as ‘fugitive economic offenders’ and for confiscation of their properties.
The court had issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against them on October 25, 2018. However, the Sandesara brothers had left the country in 2017 after allegations of bank fraud came to light against the promoters of the Gujarat-based group. The ED began probing the money laundering angle after the CBI registered an FIR and filed a chargesheet in the case.
The ED has already quizzed a senior Congress leader in the matter. The latest development has added to the ED’s list of fugitives as the agency has already got the FEO tag against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya and PNB scam accused Nirav Modi. The agency has a list of dozen fugitives and efforts are on to declare them as fugitive economic offenders.
