Running Argument

The flaws in the draft Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill

- Abhinav Sekhri

During the telecast of the group-stage Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan at Edgbaston in early June, a cameraperson picked out the beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya in the crowd, coolly sipping a drink. Mallya—whose brand, Kingfisher, was the tournament’s “Official Lager Partner”—promised in interviews after the game that he would attend all of the Indian team’s remaining Champions Trophy matches.

Mallya’s appearance at the match created a media flurry, since he is wanted by Indian law-enforcement agencies for multiple alleged economic offences, including cheating and money laundering. He is also estimated to owe around ₹9,000 crore to public-sector banks.

Mallya left India in March 2016, before investigative agencies could secure warrants for his arrest. This April, he was arrested by the UK police on behalf of Indian authorities, and was then released on bail. The Indian government had already been facing criticism for not bringing Mallya to book, and his appearance at the match two months after his arrest only earned it more flak.

Mallya’s unpaid arrears, in particular, are part of a larger problem facing India’s public-sector banks. Several of these—including the State Bank of India, UCO Bank and IDBI Bank—have amassed bad debts worth many thousands of crores of rupees. Critics have described this large-scale mismanagement of taxpayers’ money as a crisis, and have assailed the government for having done little to avert it.