Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA): Salient features
- Timeline:
- The FEOA became a law on July 31, 2018.
- In January 2019, Absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya became the first person to be declared a fugitive economic offender by the special court hearing cases under the FEOA. Now, government can now confiscate all his properties.
- Objectives:
- To deter economic offenders from avoiding 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.
- Defining Fugitive economic offender (FEO): FEO is defined as an individual
- who has committed offences involving an amount of 100 crore rupees or more and
- has ran away from India to avoid criminal prosecution.
- Special Court: A special court will be established under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 to declare a person as a Fugitive Economic Offender.
- Attachment of property: Special courts can direct the Central government to seize assets of fugitive economic offender including those that are proceeds of the crime.
- Appeal: Appeals against the orders of the special court will lie before the High Court.
