134 fugitives hiding abroad brought back to India by CBI in past five years

New Delhi: The CBI has succeeded in facilitating the return of 134 fugitives from abroad in the last five years -- nearly twice the number of repatriated persons over an entire decade between 2010 and 2019, officials said.

Coordinating closely with Interpol as well as state and central enforcement agencies, the CBI was able to secure the extradition or deportation of these 134 fugitives since 2020. Of these, 23 were brought back this year alone.

In contrast, only 74 fugitives were brought back during the decade between 2010 and 2019.

The uptick in the success rate can easily be attributed to enhanced diplomatic engagements by the government, India's outreach through VVIP visits, bilateral ties, technological advancements, and improved coordination with Interpol, the officials said.

The process of extradition has three stages: issuance of a Red Notice by Interpol, geolocation of the fugitive, and third, extradition after legal and diplomatic manoeuvres, all of which are time-consuming processes.

To reduce the time required to issue a Red Notice by Interpol, which alerts all 195 countries about a fugitive wanted in a country, the CBI launched its digital portal Bharatpol in January.

The platform, developed in-house by the agency, connects Indian police agencies with Interpol through the CBI, significantly accelerating the investigative and repatriation processes, thereby reducing the average time to publication of a Red Notice from six months to three months.

"The portal has ensured improved documentation, which took time because at times officials dealing with Interpol issues were not well versed with the format in which the application for repatriation of fugitives is to be submitted to Interpol through the CBI. The to-and-fro communication between CBI and other agencies has now been significantly curtailed, resulting in a substantial reduction in time wasted," an officer said.

Additionally, a crucial factor in ensuring extradition and deportation is a government-to-government understanding, which has seen a significant increase in recent years due to enhanced diplomatic activity by India.

The role of the External Affairs Ministry, especially that of the ambassadors and high commissioners, is a crucial factor in the repatriation of fugitives.

The CBI, which serves as India's National Central Bureau and the country's designated liaison agency with Interpol, has also enhanced its international coordination through the establishment of the Global Operations Centre.

This centre plays a crucial role by engaging foreign law enforcement agencies to expedite India’s extradition efforts and vice versa, officials said.

A recent notable success of this coordinated effort was the arrest of Nehal Modi in the US. Nehal is the brother of Nirav Modi, who is currently incarcerated in the UK, awaiting extradition to India. Nirav Modi, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, allegedly orchestrated Rs 13,000 crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking.

Nehal Modi, previously imprisoned at Franklin Correctional Institute in New York following a separate conviction there, was slated for release on July 4. Acting pre-emptively, the CBI contacted the US authorities nearly a month in advance, resulting in Nehal's arrest upon his release. He is now facing extradition proceedings, which begin Thursday.

Meanwhile, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi remain in custody in London and Antwerp, respectively, with multiple bail applications denied by the courts there. The CBI continues to pursue their extradition through the appropriate legal channels.

Last week, the CBI successfully extradited an economic offender from the US who had fled there in 1999. After a lengthy legal battle, India secured the extradition of Monika Kapoor on July 9.

Such progress is reciprocal, officials said, India has also facilitated the return of fugitives wanted by foreign governments.

In March, Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov, wanted by the US authorities of laundering millions through his platform "Grantax" was arrested in Kerala. Besciokov, who was preparing to flee the country, was captured in a joint operation by the CBI and Kerala Police.

The CBI has also launched the prosecution of a number of fugitives who have escaped to India from Gulf countries.

In addition, the crackdown on cybercriminals, based on complaints received from foreign countries, especially the US, Germany, and Japan, has led the CBI to bust a number of such gangs that were cheating citizens in those countries.

The countrywide searches have resulted in the seizure of Rs 30-40 crore worth of cryptocurrency from these syndicates. Such actions have also been beneficial to India, with extradition requests from here gaining increased importance in those jurisdictions.

According to government data, 65 Indian extradition requests remain under consideration by the US as of December 2024.

The Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has emerged as a key partner in India's repatriation efforts. A significant increase has been observed in recent years, largely due to high-level diplomatic engagements.

Several alleged criminals have been brought back from the UAE in 2025, including narcotics manufacturer Kubbawala Mustafa and drug trafficker Taher Salim Dolais wanted by Mumbai Police, fraudster Upavan Pavan Jain wanted by Gujarat Police, counterfeit currency trafficker Moideenabba Ummer Beary wanted by the National Investigation Agency, and Suhail Basheer wanted by Kerala Police.

Some jurisdictions remain difficult to expedite extradition proceedings due to their domestic legal constraints, the officials said.

However, persistent diplomatic outreach has led to the apprehension of several high-priority fugitives, they said, without naming specific countries.

India has so far signed extradition treaties with 48 countries and formalised extradition arrangements with 12 others, according to recent government data provided in Parliament.

The 2022 Interpol General Assembly, held in India, and the G20 Summit hosted here have also acted as a catalyst in the progress.

During the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a forceful appeal to address delays in the extradition of fugitives.

"There can be no safe havens for the corrupt, terrorists, drug cartels, poaching gangs or organised crime. Such crimes against people in one place are crimes against everyone, crimes against humanity," he had said.

Home Minister Amit Shah had similarly advocated for the establishment of a permanent Interpol mechanism for the exchange of real-time information between counterterrorism agencies of all member states.