(The Lok Sabha is set to debate upon the Fugitive Economic Bill 2018 during the Monsoon Session, which commences today. In light of this development, The Quint is reposting this article published at the time of the Bill’s introduction in March – the text of the Bill has remained unchanged.)
Vijay Mallya. Lalit Modi. Nirav Modi. Mehul Choksi. Jatin Mehta. Ritesh Jain.
The list of such defaulters who’ve committed vast financial fraud and are now refusing to return to India to face justice, grows longer every day, it seems. With the unearthing of every new scam, the massive damage to the financial health of our banks becomes ever more apparent, and the government has been coming under increasing pressure to do something about all of this.
In response, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018 (FEO Bill) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 12 March 2018. The draft Bill was floated last year, but it has been projected as a strong response to the Rs 12,700 crore PNB scam. The government claims that it will:
Deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts… to ensure that fugitive economic offenders return to India to face the action in accordance with law.