As India gets custody of Sanjay Bhandari, extradition success rate still remains abysmally low

Absence of extradition treaty with many nations, including major neighbouring countries, has made it tough for the Indian government to bring back offenders who have crossed the borders.

New Delhi, Jan 17: Indian agencies tasted major success in its nearly three-year battle against Sanjay Bhandari when United Kingdom Home Secretary Suella Braverman cleared the legal hurdle for the fugitive's extradition. London-based businessman Bhandari is accused in a money-laundering and tax evasion case by Indian investigative agencies Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Braverman signed the order on the 12th of January, two months after a court in London ordered the fugitive arms dealer's extradition to India. Earlier, the UK court ruled that there is no bar for him being extradited and decided to send the case to the Home Secretary, who is authorised to order the extradition based on the court order.

According to a PTI report, the Indian government's extradition request for Bhandari had been certified by then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in June 2020 and he was arrested on an extradition warrant the following month that year. Bhandari has been on bail on a security provided to the court. He has 14 days to appeal against the two extradition orders, by the court and the Home Secretary.

Bhandari, who was resident in India for tax purposes at the time in 2015, has been under investigation since 2019 on charges of corruption in the Rs 2,985-crore deal in 2009 to procure 75 PC-7 trainer aircraft from Swiss plane maker Pilatus Aircraft. He is accused of concealing overseas assets, using backdated documents, benefiting from the assets not declared to the Indian tax authorities and then falsely informing the authorities that he did not possess any overseas assets.

According to the court documents, Bhandari is wanted in India for intended prosecution for an offence of money laundering contrary to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 and for offences of tax evasion contrary to the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Asset), Imposition of Tax Act 2015 and Income Tax Act 1961.

No treaties with neighbours

But Bhandari is not the only fugitive economic offender. In a reply in Lok Sabha in 2020, minister S.P. Shukla had informed that as many as 72 Indians charged with financial irregularities have been living abroad. The list includes Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Jatin Metha, gangster Iqbal Mirchi's widow Hajra Memon, Vinay Mittal and others. Of these, India has managed to extradite only two fugitive economic offenders in the last six years, according to an RTI.

Compared to major countries, India has fewer bilateral extradition treaties. While the US and the UK have extradition treaties with over 100 countries each, India has such treaties with 47 countries only, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In addition, it has 'extradition agreements' with 11 other countries, including Peru, Fiji, Singapore and Sri Lanka. However, India does not have treaties with most of its neighbouring countries China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. This makes it tough for the government to bring back offenders who have crossed the borders.

The largest number of fugitives extradited to India since 2002 till 2021 is from the UAE (19), followed by the US (9). Four each were extradited from Canada and Thailand, three each from Germany and South Africa. So far, only two fugitives - Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel and Sanjeev Chawla - have been extradited from the UK in this period.

India's extradition rate very low

The MEA provides no numbers on extradition prior to 2002, or in relation to any rejected or pending requests. In the absence of these numbers, it is difficult to determine India's percentage success rate in bringing fugitives from abroad. However, various reports suggest that India's success rate in extradition is at 36 percent. These numbers are based on a 2017 tally of returned fugitives (62) as against 110 extradition requests that have been made to foreign countries.

A reply to a 2016 parliamentary question reveals that among these 110 requests, the highest number were made to the US (33), followed by UAE (19) and the UK (15). In 2018, the MEA updated these numbers and reported that India has 150 pending requests and is currently processing 16 more from various investigation agencies. With these updated figures, India's extradition success rate may stand at a percentage lower than 30 percent.

Cumbersome procedure

Extradition can be a lengthy process, which can be initiated only after an Indian court issues a warrant of arrest against the accused. The MEA then sends an extradition request to the concerned foreign countries. All extradition requests should be supported by documents as suggested by the MEA guidelines.

It must be noted that each extradition request is different and the request is dependent on the specific treaty/agreement signed with a country. The offence should also be defined in the list of the extradition offences. Over the years, fugitives have been able to make use of many loopholes in the extradition processes and have successfully evaded being brought back to India.