Monsoon Session of Parliament: Lok Sabha Passes Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018

The bill will now be taken up in Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi, July 20: The Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. It will now be taken up in Rajya Sabha. The bill provides for measures to deter fugitive economic offenders from evading prosecution by staying abroad. (Also read: Cabinet Approves Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018)

Taking part in the discussion on the bill, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey blamed the previous Congress-led UPA government for the rise in non-performing assets of banks. Howe ver, Opposition parties, termed the Bill as an “eyewash”, saying that with the 2019 general elections round the corner, the Government wanted to be seen to be taking action in various cases involving Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, all of whom are outside the country now.

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) member NK Premchandran said he supported the intent behind the Bill, but the government should not have resorted to an ordinance. He said the bill was first introduced in the Budget session of Parliament and efforts should have been made to pass it in that session.

Congress member Shashi Tharoor said the Bill was poorly drafted and would not withstand judicial scrutiny. He also questioned the logic behind the provision putting the minimum value of offence before the special court at Rs 100 crore. He said the threshold should be removed. “This (the Bill) will not survive a constitutional test. It has been brought purely for optics and to play to the gallery. It suffers major lacunae. Any Bill we pass should be legally sound. It is too serious an issue to become another jumla,” he said.

Nationalist Congress Party member Supriya Sule said there was a provision of confiscation of property in the Criminal Procedure Code also. She said there was a need to look into problems of employees who worked in companies floated by the fugitive offenders.

As per the bill, a person can be declared as a fugitive economic offender (FEO) if an arrest warrant is issued against him for any specified offences involving over Rs 100 crore and he has left the country and refuses to return to face prosecution. To declare a person an FEO, an application will be filed in a Special Court designated under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. It provides for confiscating assets even without conviction and paying off lenders by selling off the fugitive’s properties. (With Agency Inputs)