In a significant breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully facilitated the extradition of alleged economic offender Monika Kapoor from the United States of America. Kapoor is an accused in a 2002 import-export fraud case.
Following intensive coordination with US authorities, a CBI team travelled overseas to take custody of the fugitive.
This extradition marks a major milestone in the pursuit of justice and reaffirms the federal agency’s commitment to bringing fugitives to face the law in India, regardless of international boundaries.
The CBI team is returning with the fugitive in custody. She will be produced before the concerned court and will now face trial.
According to the agency, Kapoor had been absconding for over two decades. She was allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy with her brothers and had forged export documents including shipping bills, invoices, and bank certificates of export and realization during the year 1998.
These forged documents were used to obtain six replenishment licenses for the import of duty-free gold worth ₹2.36 crore.
The probe agency states that the accused subsequently sold the licenses at a premium to a Gujarat-based firm, which used them to import duty-free gold, causing a loss of ₹1.44 crore to the government exchequer in 1998.
Following the investigation, a charge sheet was filed on 31 March 2004 against Kapoor and her brothers under relevant sections of the law.
Later, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, District Court Saket, New Delhi, convicted her brothers as per an order dated 20 December 2017.
As Kapoor failed to join the investigation and trial, she was declared a proclaimed offender by the trial court on 13 February 2006.
Subsequently, the court issued an open non-bailable warrant of arrest against her in April 2010, and a Red Corner Notice was also issued.