Delhi Court Labels Arms Dealer Sanjay Bhandari Fugitive Economic Offender

A special court in Delhi on Saturday declared U.K.–based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender, granting a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal’s order enables the agency to initiate confiscation of Bhandari’s Indian assets, which investigators estimate at more than Rs 100 crore in undisclosed holdings. According to the ED, Bhandari left India in 2016 and has since resided in the United Kingdom. A London court recently rejected New Delhi’s request to extradite him, prompting the Indian agency to seek the fugitive designation to recover domestic and overseas property. The money-laundering investigation stems from an Income-Tax Department charge sheet filed under the Black Money Act in 2015. The ED opened its case in February 2017 and submitted a charge sheet in 2020, alleging that Bhandari routed illicit funds through shell companies and foreign accounts. With the latest ruling, authorities can move to seize assets even before a conviction, provided Bhandari remains outside India.