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The government remains fully committed that fugitives wanted in India return to the country and face trial before the courts, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said several layers of legalities are involved, but the government remains committed to bringing the economic offenders back to the country. "We remain fully committed that people who are fugitives and wanted by law in India, return to the country. For this particular return, we are in talks with several governments and processes are on... There are several layers of legalities involved but we remain committed to bring them back to the country so they can face trial before the courts here," Jaiswal said. The spokesperson responded to a query about a viral video pertaining to economic fugitives Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya. Lalit Modi posted photos and a video on social media, which showed him along with Vijay Mallya at Malla's birthday celebrations. "Lalit Modi's 'Glorious Evening' For Vijay Mallya's 70th Birthday In London," Lalit Modi said in a post on X. Lalit Modi also posted a clip on Instagram in which he referred to himself and Mallya as "the two biggest fugitives of India". The clip went viral and triggered sharp reactions on social media. "Let's break the internet down in India again. Happy birthday my friend #VijayMallya," the post said. Both Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya face cases related to financial irregularities in India and have denied the charges against them. The government informed Lok Sabha that a total of 15 individuals have been declared Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA) as of October 31, 2025. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that of the 15 offenders, nine are involved in large-scale financial fraud committed against public sector banks. The list includes several high-profile names, such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, among others, he said. The minister said the 15 FEOs collectively caused a principal financial loss of Rs 26,645 crore to banks up to October 31, 2025. In addition, interest accrued on these loans from the date of becoming NPAs up to October 31, 2025, amounts to another Rs 31,437 crore. He said Rs 19,187 crore has been recovered from these offenders till October 31, 2025. Mallya, earlier this month, questioned the Central government and public sector banks over what he described as inconsistent statements on the amounts recovered from him, and demanded the appointment of a retired judge to investigate the matter. (ANI)
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