आर्थिक भगोड़ा कौन? नए अधिनियम के तहत जिसे आर्थिक भगोड़ा घोषित किया जाता है, उसकी सम्पत्ति तुरंत प्रभाव से जब्त कर ली जाती है। आर्थिक भगोड़ा वह होता है जिसके विरुद्ध सूचीबद्द अपराधों के लिए गिरफ्तारी का वारंट जारी किया गया होता है। साथ ही ऐसा व्यक्ति भारत को छोड़ चुका है, ताकि यहां हो रही आपराधिक कार्रवाई से बच सके या वह विदेश में हो और इस कार्रवाई से बचने के लिए भारत आने से मना कर रहा है। इस अध्यादेश के तहत 100 करोड़ रुपये से ज्यादा के धोखाधड़ी, चेक अनादर और लोन डिफाल्ट के मामले आते हैं।
special court in Mumbai today declared has declared him a ‘Fugitive Economic Offender’, making him first businessman to be charged under the new anti fugitive law. This means now the government can initiate to confiscate his properties in alleged Rs. 9,000 crore loan default case.
On Saturday, Special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) judge M.S. Azmi in his oral order declared Mallya, a fugitive economic offender under Section 12 of the act, on a plea of Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“Section 17 of the FEO act provides from the challenge of the proclamation in the High Court within 30 days and I am very sure that Mallaya’s lawyers will want to explore the option,” said Zulfiqar Memon, managing partner of law firm MZM Legal. “More than anything, this order could mean that his properties can now be confiscated and sold by the Government, which may be most detrimental to Mallaya.”
In July 2018, the ED had filed an application before the court, seeking to declare Mallya a ‘fugitive economic offender’ under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and had also sought to immediately confiscate his assets of over Rs. 12,500 crore.
According to the new law, a fugitive economic offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for his or her involvement in economic offences involving at least Rs. 100 crore or more and has left India to avoid prosecution.