Fugitive Economic offender
- The Enforcement Directorate has transferred assets worth Rs. 8,441.50 crore to public sector banks that suffered losses to the tune of Rs. 22,585.83 crore due to frauds committed allegedly by Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
- They have been declared 'Fugitive Economic Offenders' by PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Court in Mumbai.
Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018:
- Fugitive Economic Offenders:
- A person can be named an offender under the law if there is an arrest warrant against him or her for involvement in economic offences involving at least Rs 100 crore or more and has fled from India to escape legal action.
- It seeks to confiscate properties of economic offenders who have left the country to avoid facing criminal prosecution or refuse to return to the country to face prosecution.
Offences listed in the act are:
- Counterfeiting government stamps or currency.
- Cheque dishonour.
- Money laundering.
- Transactions defrauding creditors
Enforcement Directorate:
- Directorate of Enforcement is a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
- In 1956, an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in the Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
- Later in 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.
ED enforces the following laws:
- Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA)
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)