Police
Persons who leave India and refuse to return to face prosecution for major economic offences can be dealt with under the:
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Answer: Option D — Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
Detailed Solution
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 allows the government to declare a person a "fugitive economic offender" and to confiscate his properties, if he has left India to avoid prosecution for serious economic offences.
Who is a fugitive economic offender:
- A person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for a scheduled economic offence involving at least 100 crore rupees.
- He has left India to avoid criminal prosecution, or he refuses to return to India to face prosecution.
Why the Act was passed:
- Several high-profile businessmen, accused of large bank frauds and loan defaults, left India and stayed abroad.
- Existing laws were not effective in quickly recovering money from such persons.
- The Act was meant to deter such offenders and help banks recover dues.
Procedure:
- The Director or Deputy Director under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act can file an application before a Special Court to declare a person a fugitive economic offender.
- The Special Court issues a notice to the person to appear.
- If he does not appear, the court can declare him a fugitive economic offender.
Consequences:
- His property in India and abroad, whether in his name or benami, can be confiscated.
- The property vests in the Central Government, free from all encumbrances.
- He can be barred from filing or defending civil claims in India.
Scheduled offences:
These include offences under laws relating to cheating, counterfeiting, forgery, money laundering, customs, income tax, benami property, black money and corruption.
Examples:
Some well-known businessmen have been declared fugitive economic offenders under the Act.
Constitutional validity:
The validity of the Act has been challenged in courts, but it continues to be in force.
Related laws:
- The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 deals with money laundering.
- The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 deals with foreign exchange.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Benami law deals with property held in another person's name.
- ✗Good to know
- ✗PMLA and FEMA deal with other matters and do not specifically provide for declaring fugitive offenders.
Quick tip
Remember: Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 = offences of 100 crore rupees or more; property can be confiscated.
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Miscellaneous GK — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Miscellaneous GK, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic collects general knowledge questions that do not fit neatly into a single category, such as national symbols, famous nicknames of places, important events, entertainment, and facts that cut across history, geography and culture. Because these questions come from many areas, the best preparation is broad revision and regular practice. Read each explanation carefully, since it often includes a related fact that is tested in a different form. Keep a notebook of facts you get wrong and revise it before the exam. Practise the miscellaneous GK questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.