The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a petition in a Delhi court to designate Vinay Mishra, former leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing, as a fugitive economic offender (FEO). This action is linked to ongoing investigations into alleged coal and cattle smuggling operations in West Bengal. Sources indicate that this move reflects the ED’s efforts to hold Mishra accountable for his involvement in these serious allegations.
The law also bars a declared fugitive economic offender from filing or defending civil claims in Indian courts. 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 . 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. 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.
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. 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. “Investigation revealed a deep system of political patronage and well-oiled network by which the system was subverted to carry out these illegal activities in a brazen manner,” the ED said in a 2021 statement.
