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🇮🇳 India /Economy & Trade

ED seeks ‘fugitive economic offender’ designation for former TMC youth leader Vinay Mishra

From Hindustan Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data In the courts
  • India’s Enforcement Directorate has asked a Delhi court to declare former Trinamool Congress youth leader Vinay Mishra a fugitive economic offender.
  • The application concerns alleged coal and cattle smuggling cases and seeks confiscation of Mishra’s properties under the 2018 law.
  • Mishra left India in 2020 and later obtained Vanuatu citizenship; the allegations and the court’s decision remain unresolved.

India’s Enforcement Directorate is seeking a legal designation that could put former Trinamool Congress youth leader Vinay Mishra among the country’s declared fugitive economic offenders. The agency has asked a Delhi special court to confiscate his properties in cases linked to alleged coal and cattle smuggling in West Bengal.

The ED filed its application on September 2 under Sections 4 and 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, according to a copy of the filing seen by Hindustan Times. The law targets economic offenders who evade Indian courts by staying outside the country. It allows authorities to confiscate crime proceeds and other assets when the amount involved exceeds ₹100 crore, and bars a declared fugitive economic offender from filing or defending civil claims in Indian courts.

Mishra left India in 2020 and later acquired citizenship of Vanuatu. In the alleged illegal coal-mining case, the ED says his brother, Vikas Mishra, received “proceeds of crime worth ₹730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and for themselves” in 2021. The agency estimates the irregularities at about ₹1,352 crore.

Mishra also faces allegations in a 2020 money-laundering case tied to alleged cattle smuggling in West Bengal. The ED filed a charge sheet against him in April 2022 and identified more than ₹400 crore in alleged crime proceeds.

The agency has alleged that cattle seized by the Border Security Force were undervalued and auctioned with help from some customs officers. Traders allegedly bought the animals at very low prices and sold them in Bangladesh, while part of the proceeds allegedly went to some TMC leaders and government officers. The ED opened its coal-pilferage investigation after a Central Bureau of Investigation first information report filed in November 2020.

If the court approves the request, Mishra would join other high-profile figures declared fugitive economic offenders, including Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Hajra Memon, Junaid, Asif and Sanjay Bhandari. The application remains before the court, and the allegations have not been resolved.

proceeds of crime worth ₹730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and for themselves

· Enforcement DirectorateThe agency’s allegation concerning payments allegedly received by Vikas Mishra in the coal-mining case.
About this summary

Originally published by Hindustan Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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