The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved a Delhi court to declare former Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing leader Vinay Mishra a fugitive economic offender (FEO) in cases linked to alleged coal and cattle smuggling in West Bengal, people familiar with the development said.
The law also bars a declared fugitive economic offender from filing or defending civil claims in Indian courts. The agency moved the special court on September 2 under Sections 4 and 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, seeking to declare Mishra a fugitive economic offender and confiscate his properties, according to a copy of the application seen by HT. Introduced by the government in 2018 to deter economic offenders from evading Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, the fugitive tag empowers authorities to confiscate the proceeds of crime and assets, where the amount involved is above ₹ 100 crore.
If the court approves the ED ’s request, Mishra will join the ranks of high-profile fugitives declared economic offenders, including Nirav Modi , Vijay Mallya , Iqbal Mirchi’s wife Hajra Memon and sons Junaid and Asif, and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, an officer requesting anonymity said.
ED alleged political patronage
The agency has alleged that cattle seized by the Border Security Force (BSF) were undervalued and auctioned with the help of some customs officers, allowing traders to buy them at throwaway prices and sell them in Bangladesh . Mishra fled India in 2020 and later acquired citizenship of Vanuatu , a Pacific island nation. The irregularities are estimated to be worth around ₹ 1,352 crore. A part of the proceeds allegedly went to some TMC leaders and government officers, the ED said in 2022. After arresting Ashok Kumar Mishra, former inspector-in-charge of Bankura police station, the ED told a Delhi court in April 2021 that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee ’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee was a beneficiary of funds generated through illegal mining, which was allegedly flourishing in the state under the patronage of the ruling party.
His brother Vikas Mishra received “proceeds of crime worth ₹ 730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and for themselves” in 2021 in connection with alleged illegal coal mining, according to the ED.
