The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018: A Glass Half Full?

Shreya Dutt, Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Manu Mishra, Advocate, Supreme Court of India

ABSTRACT

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was brought in to deter people from leaving the country and to bring the absconders back. About 5 years into its implementation, a question arises as to whether the Act is achieving its objective. In this article, we analyse not only the success of the Act but also give the reader an insight into the Act and the issues surrounding the enactment.

Keywords: India, Crime, Criminal, White-Collar, Fugitive, Offenders, Absconder, Absconding, Confiscation, Attachment

Need for the Enactment

The years before 2017 witnessed the uncovering of numerous frauds in India. The criminal justice system however faced severe handicap in handling such cases since persons involved in the commission of offences successfully evaded or fled the Indian jurisdiction. A systematic failure to combat the issue and the lack of any effective mechanism to tackle it not only shook the confidence of the public in the system, but also led to delayed investigations and a continued loss to the exchequer.

To address these concerns and deter the persons from evading the process of law, there arose a need to enact a separate law. Accordingly, Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEO Act) came into existence in the year 2018.