A Delhi court on Saturday declared United Kingdom-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender in a case pertaining to tax evasion and money laundering, reported The Indian Express.

The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Tis Hazari court on an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, according to The Hindu.

It will enable the Enforcement Directorate to confiscate Bhandari’s assets worth crores of rupees.

Bhandari is accused of defrauding the Indian income tax authorities between July 1, 2015, and February 7, 2017, by submitting two tax returns in which he deliberately hid details about his foreign assets and foreign income. As a resident of India at the time, the 63-year-old was obligated to pay tax on all his global assets and income.

In 2016, Bhandari fled India for London, despite a lookout notice against him. In October 2016, a case was registered against him under the Official Secrets Act after confidential defence ministry documents were recovered from his residence during an Income Tax department raid.

The Enforcement Directorate had told a Delhi court in April that a court in the UK has rejected its appeal for Bhandari’s extradition.

In its application to declare the arms dealer a fugitive economic offender, the central agency claimed that the UK court’s order had no bearing on Indian proceedings against Bhandari, reported ANI.

Bhandari opposed the application, stating that his stay in London is legal, as the London High Court had refused his extradition. His counsel, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, claimed that the Enforcement Directorate’s plea was unclear, improperly filed, and did not meet the legal standards under the Fugitive Offenders Act.

On Saturday, the court stated it was “satisfied that Bhandari, against whom an warrant of arrest has been issued…has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution”, reported The Indian Express.

“Further, this court is satisfied that the total value of the schedule offence is `100 crore or more,” said Aggarwal.

He added that the “extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make the accused an angel or immune to prosecution for the violation of Indian laws”.

Bhandari has alleged that he had faced “undue harassment and pressure” from several enforcement agencies to “compel him to give false statements against the political opponents of the government”.

He fled India due to this “harassment”, he claimed.

Besides tax evasion, Bhandari is also one of the accused in a case of alleged corruption in the procurement of Pilatus trainer aircraft in 2009. In June 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a case against Bhandari and unknown officials of the Indian Air Force, Defence Ministry and Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft.

Bhandari is also booked in a case for allegedly buying a house in London under a benami for businessman Robert Vadra.