The long arm of the law

The long arm of the law

News:

1. Recently, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, promulgated by the President.

Important facts:

2. Fugitive economic offender:

• A Fugitive economic offender is any individual against whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a scheduled offence has been issued by any court in India.
• Or who has either left India to avoid criminal prosecution, or who, being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.

3. List of offences that can qualify an individual to be designed an economic offender includes:

• Offences under several Acts such as the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Customs Act, 1962, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and the Indian Penal Code.

4. If a person is designated a fugitive economic offender:

• The special court can direct the Central government to confiscate the proceeds of the crime in India or abroad, whether or not such property is owned by the fugitive economic offender, and any other property or benami property in India or abroad that is owned by the fugitive economic offender.
• The confiscation of property within India is not a problem for the Centre, confiscating properties abroad will require the cooperation of the respective country.
• The fugitive economic offender will also be disqualified from accessing the Indian judicial system for any civil cases.

5. Burden of proof:

• Theburden of proof for establishing that an individual is a fugitive economic offender or that certain property is part of the proceeds of a crime is on the Director appointed to file an application seeking fugitive economic offender status.