ED moves court to tag Sandesaras, aides as fugitive economic offenders

The ED had made similar pleas, under the new fugitive law, against Vijay Mallya and diamond jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in separate bank loan money laundering probes

The Enforcement Directorate Friday moved a special court here to get the owners of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech group, charged in an alleged Rs 81-billion bank loan fraud case, declared fugitive economic offenders under a new law, officials said.

They said the central agency has filed a plea before a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking to declare Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel fugitives under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, brought by the Modi government this year to check cases of large bank frauds and similar crimes.

"All the four are