Arms Dealer Sanjay Bhandari Declared Fugitive Economic Offender by Delhi Court
A special court in Delhi has officially designated UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari as a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, in a case related to undeclared foreign assets.
The ruling was delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal following a petition by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED alleged that Bhandari willfully avoided Indian legal proceedings and held foreign assets worth over ₹100 crore. It also clarified that the UK court’s refusal to extradite Bhandari has no impact on the FEO proceedings in India, which are conducted under domestic law.
Bhandari, through his lawyer Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, opposed the ED’s plea. He argued that his stay in the UK was legal, backed by a London High Court ruling that denied his extradition over safety concerns in Tihar Jail. Singh also claimed that the ED’s application lacked proper legal basis, jurisdiction, and did not satisfy the FEO Act’s monetary threshold, referring to earlier figures from the Income Tax Department.
The defense further emphasized that Bhandari had been discharged by the UK court and no fresh warrants were outstanding against him.
Representing the ED, Special Public Prosecutor Zoheb Hossain maintained that Bhandari had intentionally evaded the Indian legal system.
Previously, the UK High Court blocked Bhandari’s extradition due to concerns over potential risks like extortion and violence in Indian prisons. The Indian government’s appeal to the UK Supreme Court to reverse that decision was also rejected.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
