ED declares 21 fugitive financial offenders, seizes Rs 2,178 cr property
3 min learnCould 2, 2026 09:52 AM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has declared 21 folks, together with businessmen Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, UK-based arms marketing consultant Sanjay Bhandari, and Hajra Iqbal Memon (spouse of the late Iqbal Mirchi, gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s aide), as fugitive financial offenders (FEOs) over the previous seven years, in line with its annual report.
An FEO is a person in opposition to whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a scheduled offence, the place the overall worth concerned in such offence or offences is Rs 100 crore or extra, has been issued by any courtroom in India, and who has left India to keep away from prison prosecution or being overseas, refuses to return to India to face prison prosecution.
Nonetheless, the report added, selections to declare diamond dealer Mehul Choksi, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, and Mahadev app promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal as FEOs below the Fugitive Financial Offenders Act (FEOA) stay sub judice in courts.
The central company’s annual report, launched on Friday, states that proceedings below FEOA have been initiated in opposition to 54 people so far, with 21 declared FEOs and property value round Rs 2,178.34 crore confiscated. “Out of those 21, 9 people have been declared FEOs in 2025-26 itself,” the report famous.
In accordance with the report, the ED’s efficiency below FEOA previously two monetary years—2024-25 and 2025-26—exhibits vital asset restoration and a rising variety of offenders declared as fugitives. “This displays ED’s dedication to swiftly act in opposition to these fleeing India to evade prosecution,” it mentioned.
Citing Bhandari for instance, the report famous {that a} particular courtroom (PMLA) declared him an FEO final yr following ED’s utility on December 13, 2019, below FEOA. A UK-based arms supplier, Bhandari fled to London after earnings tax raids in 2016. He escaped India through Nepal in 2016, and an Interpol Pink Discover was issued in opposition to him in October 2017.
“Probes revealed undisclosed international earnings of Rs 655 crore and international property exceeding Rs 100 crore. Between 2009 and 2016, he deposited big sums into abroad shell firm accounts and invested in properties within the UAE and UK. ED filed a Prosecution Criticism (PC) in opposition to him in 2020 and a supplementary PC in 2023. ED has now sought confiscation of his properties earlier than the Particular Court docket (PMLA), Rouse Avenue Court docket,” the report mentioned.
Keep up to date with the newest – Click on right here to comply with us on Instagram
© The Indian Categorical Pvt Ltd
