Latest news with #FEO
Indian Express
05-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari declared a fugitive economic offender
Accepting an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate, a Delhi Court on Saturday declared UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender. With this, the Central agency can confiscate the assets of Bhandari worth crores of rupees. This order comes as a shot in the arm for the ED after a UK court had recently ruled against Bhandari's extradition to India. '…the ED has been able to make out a case under Sections 2(f) and 2(m) of the FEO (Fugitive Economic Offenders) Act…this Court is satisfied that the individual Sh. Sanjay Bhandari, against whom an warrant of arrest i.e. NBW (non bailable warrant) has been issued…has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution…despite knowing the pendency of the NBWs against him,' said Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal in the order. After the Income Tax department raided him in 2016, Bhandari, now 63, fled to London. A year later, the ED filed a criminal case against him under the anti-black money law of 2015. The agency is also probing Bhandari's links with businessman Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. 'Further, this court is satisfied that the total value of the schedule offence is `100 crore or more…,' the court said. The principal allegation against Bhandari was that he owned certain assets worth Rs 100 crores abroad which he did not disclose to the I-T authorities. The ED had argued that Bhandari consistently chose not to return to India. The ED also submitted that the UK court's decision to disallow Bhandari's extradition would not be binding on the proceedings in the Delhi court. Bhandari's legal team, while opposing the ED's move to get him declared a fugitive offender, claimed that its 'client's stay could not be called illegal in the UK as he has a legal right to reside in the UK and the GOI is bound by the judgment of the UK court…. Bhandari is legally living there, and declaring him a 'fugitive' in that scenario is legally wrong'. The court said the 'extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make the accused an angel or immune to prosecution for the violation of Indian laws'. Bhandari had alleged that he was subjected to undue harassment and pressure from various enforcement agencies to 'compel him to give false statements against the political opponents of the government' and that it was because of this harassment that he was forced to leave India. 'In any case, those who play with fire should be known to be aware of its consequences,' it said. The court held that the undisclosed foreign income or assets of Bhandari were worth Rs 655 crore and the total tax evaded by him, including penalty and interest, was Rs 196 crore. The ED filed its first chargesheet against him in 2020. The ED filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case in 2023, alleging that Bhandari 'acquired' the 12, Bryanston Square house located in London in 2009 and got it renovated 'as per the directions of Robert Vadra and the funds for renovation were provided by Robert Vadra'. Vadra has denied owning any London property directly or indirectly. He has termed these charges a political witch-hunt against him and claimed that he is being 'hounded and harassed' to subserve political ends. With this order, a total of 16 people, including liquor baron Vijay Mallya and diamond trader Nirav Modi, have been declared fugitive economic offenders by different courts. Bhandari's assets worth about Rs 21 crore have been attached by the ED under the PMLA.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Delhi court declares arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari fugitive
New Delhi: A special court here on Saturday declared absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender (FEO), finding force in the Enforcement Directorate 's (ED) case accusing him of money laundering . Significantly, the Court did not find "any substance" in the ground taken by Bhandari's counsel that since the UK High Court (in February) turned down the Indian government's extradition request , Bhandari has a right to reside in the UK. The court rejected the argument of Bhandari's counsel that the failure of India's extradition request in the UK High Court in February gave him the right to reside in the UK. "Extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make the accused an angel or immune from prosecution for the violation of Indian laws," it observed in its detailed order. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like One of the Most Successful Investors of All Time, Warren Buffett, Recommends: 5 Books for Turning... Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Click Here Undo The court said it is "satisfied" that Bhandari - against whom a non-bailable warrant stands issued by a Delhi Court under the Black Money Act and who has committed schedule offence or offence(s) involving an amount of ₹100 crore or more - has left India to avoid criminal prosecution and that "he wilfully refuses" to return to face prosecution. "FEO proceedings are another way of making one come back to India to face trial by coercing him to return by attachment, confiscation of the properties of such fugitive economic offender and proceeds of crime and by dis-entitling such fugitive economic offender from putting forward or defending any civil claim," the order said. Live Events Bhandari "always has an option to return back to India to get the termination of proceedings under FEO Act and to avoid adverse consequences," it clarified. Therefore, when he chooses not to return, "he cannot take the plea of avoiding all the legal consequences including that of Section 14 of the FEO Act," the special court said.
Hindustan Times
05-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Delhi court declares arms middleman Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender
New Delhi: London-based arms middleman Sanjay Bhandari, wanted in multiple cases by the Indian agencies, was declared a 'fugitive economic offender' (FEO) by a Delhi court on Saturday based on a request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a development which officials said will allow the federal agency to confiscate his properties anywhere in the world and bar him from filing or defending any civil proceedings in India. Sanjay Bhandari. (File Photo) The court ruled that extradition attempt of Indian agencies (for Bhandari) may have failed (a UK court earlier this year discharged him from extradition proceedings) but it doesn't make him 'angel or immune from the prosecution for the violation of Indian laws' and that FEO tag is another way of 'making one come back to India to face trial by coercing him to return by attachment, confiscation of the properties' and 'dis-entitling such fugitive economic offenders from putting forward or defending any civil claim.' Brought in by the government in 2018 to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, the FEO act empowers authorities to confiscate and attach proceeds of crimes and assets when the amount involved in the case is higher than ₹100 crore. Such attachment is not linked to conviction. Deciding ED's request under FEO, filed in 2019, special judge - Sanjeev Aggarwal - at the Tis Hazari court said in his judgement on Saturday - 'this court is satisfied that Sanjay Bhandari is a fugitive economic offender under section 12(1) of Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and is declared as such under the above provision(s) of Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.' Asserting that Bhandari wilfully refuses to come to India to face criminal prosecution, the judge noted - 'this court is satisfied that the total value of the schedule offence is 100 crores or more i.e. the schedule to the present FEO Act which is Section 51 of the Black Money Act', which it added is a requisite condition for declaring an individual a FEO. With this order, a total of 16 people, including liquor baron Vijay Mallya and diamond trader Nirav Modi, have been declared fugitive economic offenders by different courts. Rejecting an argument of Bhandari that UK high court order makes him eligible to stay in London and therefore FEO won't apply to him, the judge Sanjeev Aggarwal said in his order on Saturday - 'The said argument is without any substance, as the extradition failure will not make any difference, as the extradition of the accused was one of the means to bring the accused to India to face trial in the said offence under Section 51 of the Black Money Act.' 'Extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make accused angel or immune from the prosecution for the violation of Indian laws. The FEO proceedings are another way of making one come back to India to face trial by coercing him to return by attachment, confiscation of the properties of such fugitive economic offender and proceeds of crime and by dis-entitling such fugitive economic offender from putting forward or defending any civil claim. This is applicable to an individual, who has committed schedule offence or offence(s) involving an amount of ₹100 crores or more and who has absconded or refuses to come back to India to avoid criminal prosecution in India,' the court ruled, while adding that proceeds of crime in Bhandari's case are more than ₹100 crore. Bhandari's lawyer - senior advocate Maninder Singh - had argued that declaring him as fugitive economic offender entails very serious consequences including confiscation of his property and barring him from defending any civil claims, effectively amounting to economic death penalty. Dismissing this argument, the court said - 'Bhandari always has an option to return to India to get the termination of proceedings under FEO Act and to avoid adverse consequences of Section 14 of the FEO Act. Therefore, when he chooses not to return to India, he cannot take the plea of avoiding all the legal consequences including that of Section 14 of the FEO Act. In any case those who play with fire should be aware of its consequences.' According to ED and the Income Tax department, during the extradition proceedings, Bhandari had undisclosed foreign income worth ₹655 crore on which he evaded tax worth ₹196 crore. The middleman in defence deals deposited huge amounts of money in bank accounts of overseas shell companies and also invested in properties in the UAE and the UK (between 2009 and 2016). He has also been under investigation since 2019 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of corruption in a ₹2,985-crore deal in 2009 to procure 75 PC-7 trainer aircraft from Swiss plane maker Pilatus Aircraft and for allegedly laundering money for properties allegedly linked to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra in London, in which NRI businessman C C Thampi was arrested by ED in January 2020. It has also been probing Bhandari's links with Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. He fled from India in 2016 via Nepal and an Interpol red notice was issued against him in October 2017. The Indian government sent two extradition requests against the fugitive businessman under money laundering and black money act which were certified by the then UK home secretary Priti Patel in June 2020, after which, British authorities arrested him on July 15, 2020. A court, however, released him on bail pending extradition proceedings. A Westminster court subsequently ordered his extradition to India in November 2022 but he challenged this in the high court. The UK high court, on February 28 this year, discharged him in the extradition request and an appeal filed by Indian government against it was rejected on April 4.
Hans India
04-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Formula-E Race Deal… ACB quizzes Arvind Kumar on KTR's role in transfer of funds
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today subjected IAS officer Arvind Kumar to a rigorous six-hour interrogation in connection with the ongoing Formula E-race case. This marks the third time the former Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) official has been summoned by the probing agency regarding alleged financial irregularities in the Formula E-Race deal. ACB officials reportedly questioned Mr Kumar extensively on the role of former MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao in the transfer of funds to the Formula E-race company without obtaining due government approval. Sources indicate that the IAS officer arrived at the ACB headquarters at 11:40 AM and departed around 5:15 PM, with the questioning session punctuated by a 30-minute lunch break and two tea breaks. Mr Kumar was reportedly pressed on allegations raised by complainant Principal Secretary M Dana Kishore, particularly concerning his involvement in transferring funds overseas. The ACB registered a First Information Report (FIR) against KTR on 19 December last year. The FIR also named Aravind Kumar, then Special Chief Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department, and B L N Reddy, then Chief Engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). The complainant alleges that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) made payments exceeding Rs 54.88 crore to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and associated entities, bypassing standard financial protocols. According to the FIR, Rs 45.7 crore was transferred to FEO between September and October 2023, despite FEO having already terminated its agreement with the Telangana government. This payment reportedly incurred an additional tax burden of Rs 8.06 crore, which was absorbed by the HMDA. A tripartite agreement signed in October 2022 between the Telangana government, FEO, and event sponsor Ace Nxt Gen Pvt Ltd had initially limited the State government's financial responsibility. However, the FIR claims that disputes between FEO and Ace Nxt Gen Pvt Ltd led to the government assuming financial liability without necessary regulatory approvals, thereby causing significant losses to the exchequer.
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Formula-E race case: Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar grilled for over five hours by ACB
Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar was grilled for over five hours by the officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) at its headquarters in Banjara Hills, here on Thursday (July 03, 2025). The official was summoned in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the Formula-E Race deal. According to a source close to the investigation, the official arrived at 11.40 a.m. and left the premises around 5.15 p.m. There was a 30-minute lunch and two tea breaks in the six-hour period, the source said. The official was reportedly questioned about the allegations made by complainant Principal Secretary M. Dana Kishore, including his role in transferring the funds overseas. This is the second time the official has appeared before the ACB. Earlier, the official was questioned on January 8. The case surfaced after ACB registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister K. T. Rama Rao on December 19. The then Special Chief Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department Aravind Kumar and then Chief Engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) B.L.N. Reddy were also named in the FIR. The complainant had alleged that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) made payments exceeding ₹54.88 crore to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and associated entities, bypassing standard financial protocols. As per the FIR, ₹45.7 crore was transferred to FEO between September and October 2023, a period when FEO had already terminated its agreement with the Telangana government. The payment reportedly resulted in an additional tax burden of ₹8.06 crore, which was absorbed by the HMDA. A tripartite agreement signed in October 2022 between the Telangana government, FEO, and event sponsor Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd. had limited the State government's financial responsibility. However, the FIR alleges that disputes between FEO and Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd. led to the government assuming financial liability without regulatory approvals, causing losses to the exchequer.
