ED Seeks Fugitive Economic Offender Tag for Former TMC Youth Leader Vinay Mishra

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached a Delhi special court seeking to declare former Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing leader Vinay Mishra a fugitive economic offender in connection with money-laundering investigations linked to alleged coal and cattle smuggling in West Bengal. The agency filed its application on September 2 under Sections 4 and 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. Along with seeking the fugitive economic offender tag, the ED has also requested the confiscation of properties allegedly associated with Mishra.

Mishra left India in 2020 and later acquired citizenship of Vanuatu, according to the ED's application and reports on the development. His absence from the country has been a key factor in the agency's move to invoke the fugitive economic offender law. The ED's latest action relates to two separate investigations involving alleged financial networks connected with coal pilferage and cattle smuggling.

In the coal case, the agency began its money-laundering investigation after a CBI case was registered in November 2020. The ED has estimated the alleged financial irregularities in the case at around ₹1,352 crore. The agency has also alleged that Mishra's brother, Vikas Mishra, received substantial amounts described by investigators as proceeds of crime. Mishra is also facing investigation in a money-laundering case connected with alleged cattle smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border. The ED filed a charge sheet against him in April 2022 and has identified alleged proceeds of crime exceeding ₹400 crore in that case.

According to the agency's allegations, cattle seized by the Border Security Force were undervalued during the auction process and subsequently sold to traders before being illegally transported across the border. Investigators have alleged that parts of the money generated through the operation were routed to individuals linked to the network.

The ED's request is based on the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, which was introduced to address cases where individuals accused of major financial offences leave India and remain outside the reach of Indian courts. The law allows authorities to seek confiscation of assets after a person is formally declared a fugitive economic offender by the court.

The legislation applies to economic offences involving amounts above the statutory threshold of ₹100 crore. A person declared an FEO can also face restrictions on pursuing or defending certain civil claims in Indian courts. Mishra has previously been the subject of legal proceedings in connection with the investigations. In 2021, a Delhi court issued a non-bailable warrant against him following an ED plea in the coal and cattle smuggling cases.

The ED's latest application does not itself amount to a declaration that Mishra is a fugitive economic offender. The court will consider the agency's plea before deciding whether the statutory requirements for such a declaration have been met. The development marks another significant step in the long-running investigations into alleged coal and cattle smuggling networks in West Bengal, with the ED continuing to pursue both the financial trail and assets allegedly connected to the cases.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Hindustan Times.