The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday informed that it has reverted to public-sector banks and therefore the Central government assets worth `9,371 crore belonging to fugitive economic offenders Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
The agency has seized assets worth a total of Rs 18,170 crore, constituting over 80% of the losses of Rs 22,586 crore incurred by banks because of the alleged frauds committed by these three businessmen. This also includes assets worth Rs 969 crore abroad
Out of these, assets worth about Rs 329.67 crore are impounded amounting to Rs 9,041.5 crore are reverted back to the PSBs which take the overall amount to Rs 9,371 crore.
Meanwhile, Nirav Modi has lost the primary stage of his deportation appeal in the London supreme court, just over two months after his deportation to India was ordered by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel due to the PNB scam case.
The action to connect assets became substantially easier due to the enactment of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. The law gives rights to the authorities to connect assets of such offenders who run from the reach of law even without a conviction.
This law provides for the connection of all the assets of the offenders, no matter if it is the proceeds of crime or not. It covers all the offences with a price of Rs 100 crore or more.
A massive part of the assets in question was held through the name of dummy entities, trusts, third parties or family members of those accused and these entities were their proxies for holding the properties.
Complaints were registered against all the three accused after the enquiry under the Prevention of money Laundering Act was completed. Deportation requests were sent for them to the united kingdom (for Mallya and Nirav Modi) and Antigua and Barbuda (for Choksi).
Already, the deportation of Mallya was ordered by the Westminster Magistrates Court, which was confirmed by the united kingdom state supreme court. Since Mallya was denied permission to file an appeal to the Supreme Court of the united kingdom, his deportation to India is nearly confirmed according to the agency..
Choksi, who was recently found in Dominica after he disappeared from Antigua, is additionally facing deportation charges.
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