The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari challenging a trial court order declaring him a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna pronounced the verdict, stating “Appeal dismissed,” thereby upholding the declaration that allows the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to proceed with confiscation of his attached assets.
Bhandari, aged 63, fled to London in 2016 shortly after the Income-Tax Department conducted raids at his premises in Delhi. His assets, valued at approximately Rs. 21 crore, were later attached by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case stems from an Income-Tax chargesheet, following which the ED registered a money laundering case against Bhandari and others in February 2017. The agency filed its first chargesheet in 2020, probing his alleged links with Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. A supplementary chargesheet filed in 2023 further alleged that Bhandari had acquired a property at 12, Bryanston Square in London in 2009, renovated it as per Vadra’s directions, and received funds from Vadra for the purpose.
On July 5, 2025, Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of the Tis Hazari Courts declared Bhandari a fugitive economic offender. The trial court had observed that failed extradition attempts do not grant immunity to an accused from facing prosecution for alleged violations of Indian laws. Bhandari, represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and a team of advocates, challenged this order before the High Court. The ED, represented by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju and supporting counsel, opposed the petition, arguing that due process under the FEO Act had been followed.
The High Court’s dismissal paves the way for the ED to move forward with confiscation proceedings of Bhandari’s properties in India. Earlier this year, a special court had deferred its order on the ED’s plea for confiscation, noting that the FEO declaration was under challenge. With the High Court now upholding the tag, those proceedings are likely to gain momentum.
Bhandari has faced extradition requests from India, with a UK court earlier considering the matter in relation to allegations of money laundering under the PMLA and tax evasion under the Black Money Act. Despite these efforts, he remains in the UK as he has filed appeals against the extradition.
