A Delhi court declared the Sandesara brothers, promoters of the Gujarat-based Sterling group, fugitive economic criminals on Monday. The action was taken at the request of the Directorate of Execution (ED).
The Sandesara brothers, Nitin and Chetan, along with the latter’s wife, Dipti, have been declared fugitives under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.
They left India in 2017 after allegedly scamming several banks of Rs 14,500 crore through bank loans. Her last known location, according to investigating agencies, is Nigeria.
Only Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi have been declared fugitive economic criminals before them. The FEO Act empowers the ED to seize assets from defendants anywhere in the world.
The ED had registered a criminal case in the alleged bank fraud scam based on a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR and a charge sheet.
The Sandesaras are being investigated by multiple agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the income tax department.
In June 2019, the ED attached movable and immovable property worth Rs 9,778 million rupees belonging to the Sandesaras, including four oil rigs and oil fields in Nigeria and several ships, in addition to a Gulfstream aircraft and a flat in London.
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