CBI takes custody of economic offender Monika Kapoor in the USA

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York had cleared her extradition under the bilateral extradition treaty between India and the USA.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken custody of Monika Kapoor, an alleged economic offender, in the US and will bring her back to India that will end an over 25-year-long run from the law, officials on July 9 said. The development comes after Kapoor's extradition from the US.

The central agency has boarded an American Airlines flight to India and is likely to land in the country on July 9's night.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York had cleared her extradition under the bilateral extradition treaty between India and the USA.

The secretary of state had subsequently issued a surrender warrant after rejecting Kapoor's claims that she would likely be tortured if returned to India, and that her extradition would therefore violate the United Nations Convention Against Torture as implemented by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (FARRA).

Kapoor went to the USA in 1999 after the alleged fraud where she along with her two brothers forged documents for jewellery business. These documents were allegedly used to obtain licenses from the Indian government to import raw materials duty free.

The alleged fraud caused a loss of more than USD 679000 to Indian exchequer.

India had approached the USA seeking Kapoor's extradition in October, 2010 pursuant to the Treaty on Extradition between the two countries, the officials said.