ED to seek fugitive economic offender tag for Sanjay Bhandari

New Delhi: Investigating agencies are tightening the noose on absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to initiate proceedings to obtain the tag of “fugitive economic offender” for Bhandari, who is wanted in India for alleged offences ranging from violation of foreign exchange rules to black money and routing of kickbacks in defence deals.

Bhandari, said to be a close business associate of Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, is also under the ED’s scanner for allegedly purchasing undeclared properties in London for Vadra.


The agency suspects Bhandari acquired the properties from alleged kickbacks paid for a defence contract and a petroleum deal in 2009.

Vadra has denied any business association with Bhandari during his ongoing questioning by ED.

Bhandari is being probed by the Income Tax Department for possessing over Rs 500 crore in black money under the 2015 anti-black money legislation, people aware of the matter told ET.

While the IT department had carried out search operations against Bhandari in 2017, the ED seized his assets worth Rs 26.61 crore for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The seizure was “in lieu of undisclosed assets held abroad by him” and was carried out under Section 37A of FEMA.

The section stipulates that if certain foreign exchange, foreign security or immovable property is held outside India in violation of this law, an asset of equivalent value can be seized within India.

Bhandari had been booked by the Delhi Police in 2016 for alleged violation of the Official Secrets Act for his involvement in defence deals, which came to the fore after the IT department found “sensitive” defence documents during searches of his premises in April 2016.

Bhandari was grilled by IT sleuths in 2016 over purported emails he exchanged with Vadra pertaining to the purchase of flight tickets for Vadra in 2012 from France to India.

While Bhandari, as per IT sleuths, had conceded buying the tickets for Vadra, the latter has flatly denied any business association with him.

The absconding arms dealer is said to have purchased benami properties in London worth 12 million pounds for Vadra in lieu of kickbacks received from defence and petroleum deals.

The ED claims that Vadra met Bhandari several times in London. It claims to be in possession of emails exchanged between Vadra and Bhandari, where the former allegedly detailed renovation work worth over 65,000 pounds in the London mansion.

Vadra has denied the charges.

The IT department had approached the British Virgin Islands, the UK, the UAE, Switzerland and a few other countries last year to probe Bhandari’s transactions and alleged investments and the companies owned and operated by him.