Context:

• The bill, replacing the ordinance seeks to deter economic offenders from escaping the country and lays down provisions for escaped offenders to return to India and submit themselves to the process of law.

Key Features:

• The bill empowers authorities to attach and confiscate the properties and assets of economic offenders.
• It seeks to target fugitives for offences exceeding ₹100 crore.
• The bill will extend not only to loan defaulters and fraudsters but also to individuals who violate laws governing taxes, black money, benami properties and financial corruption.
• All individuals attempting to evade the Indian legal process from the date of the enactment of the law will be covered.
• The confiscation of property will not be limited to those acquired through the proceeds or profits of the crime.
• The bill also provides for confiscation of benami properties.
• Those classified as fugitives will also not be able to pursue civil cases in India unless they come back to India and face prosecution.

About Fugitive Economic Offender

• A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.

About Scheduled offence

• A scheduled offence refers to a list of economic offences contained in the Schedule of the bill.

Source:IE