New Delhi, April 9 The Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld a trial court's order declaring UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari a "fugitive economic offender" in connection with a money laundering case.
"The appeal is dismissed," Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said.
On July 5, 2025, the trial court declared Bhandari a "fugitive economic offender" following a plea by the Enforcement Directorate, which enables the agency to seize all of Bhandari's assets worth crores of rupees.
Bhandari's chances of returning to India have been effectively eliminated after a UK court ruled against his extradition.
His legal team, while opposing the ED's move to declare him a fugitive offender, argued that "his client's stay in the UK could not be deemed illegal, as he has a legal right to reside there, and the Indian government is bound by the UK court's judgment... Bhandari is legally residing there, and declaring him a 'fugitive' in that scenario would be legally incorrect".
The trial court stated that "while the extradition attempt may have failed, it will not make the accused innocent or exempt from prosecution for violating Indian laws".
Bhandari (63) fled to London in 2016, shortly after the Income Tax department raided him in Delhi.
The ED filed its first chargesheet against Bhandari in 2020. It filed a criminal case against Bhandari and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in February 2017, taking cognizance of an Income Tax chargesheet filed against him under the 2015 anti-black money law.
The agency is investigating Bhandari's links with Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.