Gains for India on combating fugitive economic offenders at G20

NEW DELHI: Recently concluded G-20 summit saw big gains for India with a number of its suggestions finding way into the final communique, including one calling for global cooperation in combating the menace of fugitive economic offenders.

Officials said the “icing on the cake” was the decision to allow India to host the summit in 2022, 75th year of the country’s independence.

It took several hours of negotiations to drive home the point about the dangers of fugitive economic offenders as some countries resisted attempts to include it in the communique. “We explained that this was a growing trend and fugitive economic offenders will undermine the global financial system. Then the PM forcefully put across his nine-point agenda,” Shaktikanta Das, India’s sherpa for the G-20 meet told TOI. Sherpas are officials who prepare contours of the official communique on behalf of their leaders. The G-20 leaders adopted a tough line on the link between corruption and economic crimes and ways to combat them.


“We will further explore links between corruption and other economic crimes and ways to tackle them, including through cooperation on the return of persons sought for such offences and stolen assets, consistent with international obligations and domestic legal systems,” said the declaration by leaders at the G-20 summit.

In June, TOI had reported that the government had made a pitch at the G20 for a global framework to get high-profile fugitive economic offenders such as liqour baron Vijay Mallya, jewellers Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others to face the law at home. Das said G-20 has asked relevant global organisations to examine the issue and prepare a report to be considered in the next meeting. “The Financial Action Task Force or the OECD will be assigned to undertake a detailed study.”