The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Sri Narendra Modi has approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018. The Ministry of Finance has introduced the bill in Parliament. The Bill will help to seize the properties of evading offenders from Indian.
The Union Cabinet has approved “The Fugitive Economic Afforders Bill” against financial criminals. The bill will soon be coming to Parliament. The government has authorized the power to sell the assets of financial offenders fleeing abroad.
Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and other financial criminals in the banks have been massively scammed and fled to foreign countries without any inquiry. The government brought this bill to target such criminals. The bill will be introduced in the budget session to be held on March 5. The bill will be open to those who have fled to the exchequer and abroad for more than Rs 100 crore.
The Bill will support the recovery of all arrears immediately. The government said the bank would have the power to sell all the assets that they can not hide, even if they flee abroad. Last September, the Union Ministry of Justice and the Finance Ministry approved the draft. The Union Cabinet has passed the bill in the wake of the PNB scam.
Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018 Salient features
- Application before the Special Court for a declaration that an individual is a fugitive economic offender.
- Attachment of the property of a fugitive economic offender.
- Issue of a notice by the Special Court to the individual alleged to be a fugitive economic offender.
- Confiscation of the property of an individual declared as a fugitive economic offender resulting from the proceeds of crime.
- Confiscation of other property belonging to such offender in India and abroad, including benami property.
- Disentitlement of the fugitive economic offender from defending any civil claim.
- An Administrator will manage and dispose of the confiscated property under the Act.
