Fifteen people, including infamous businessmen Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, who combined owe public sector banks ₹58,000 crore, have been designated as Fugitive Economic Offenders by the Union government.
Up to fifteen people, including Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, have been designated as Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs) by the Union government as of October 31, 2025. Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha on Monday during the current Winter Session of Parliament.
The information was released in response to an unstarred question posed during the Winter Session of Parliament by Murari Lal Meena, a Congress member of parliament from Dausa and member of the Lok Sabha.
According to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA), these fugitive economic offenders collectively owe almost a dozen public sector banks ₹58,082 crore. This comprises ₹26,645 in principal as of the NPA date and ₹31,437 in interest accumulated between the NPA date and October 31, 2025. In response, the government stated that as of October 31, 2025, ₹19,187 crore had been recovered from these criminals.
Meena had asked the Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha for information regarding the total number of people who have been designated as fugitive economic offenders under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, particularly in cases involving significant financial frauds against public sector banks.
Nine of the fifteen criminals are involved in extensive financial fraud against institutions in the public sector. Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi are among the prominent figures on the list, according to Chaudhary's response, which is accessible on the Lok Sabha website.
Mallya and Nirav's charges
Mallya is charged with a fraud involving more than ₹9,000 crore that he borrowed for his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines from a group of Indian public-sector banks. Nirav, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, is accused of ₹13,000-crore scam against Punjab National Bank (PNB) — one of the biggest financial scams in India’s history.
The government brought in the FEO Act in 2018 to dissuade economic criminals from avoiding the process of Indian law by residing outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts. The Act gives authorities the authority to seize and seize assets and proceeds of crimes when the case involves more than ₹100 crore.
Who is on the list of FEOs?
Those who have been declared Fugitive Economic Offenders in the list are: Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Nitin J Sandesara, Chetan J Sandesara, Dipti C Sandesara of the Sterling Biotech fraud case, Sudharshan Venkatraman, Ramanujam Sesharathnam, the erstwhile promoters of Zylog Systems Ltd, Pushpesh Kumar Baid, and Hitesh Kumar Narendrabhai Patel.
Nitin and Chetan Sandesara have settled various dues with Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, and State Bank of India.
Supreme Court relief
Last Monday, the Supreme Court mandated the quashing of all criminal proceedings against the Sandesara brothers in the Sterling Biotech bank fraud case, providing they deposit ₹5,100 crore as a “full and final payment” to the lender banks.
“If the petitioners (Sandesara brothers) are ready to deposit the amount as settled in the one-time settlement (OTS), and public money comes back to the lender banks, the continuation of the criminal proceedings would not serve any useful purpose,” the Court observed.
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