CBI team to visit Dubai with ‘most wanted’ list

Our Corporate Bureau

New Delhi, Oct 14: A high -level team of law enforcement agencies led by Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) joint director D Sivanandan will visit Dubai next week to hand over ‘red alert’ papers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government on some of the most wanted criminals in India, who are living in the Gulf and have business interests there.

Sources said the list comprises militants, big drug traffickers and major economic offenders. These include Fazil-ur-Rahman, Mustafa Majnu, Mohammed Dosa, Quayyam, Salim Chiplun, Aftab Batki (all of whom are suspected to be living in Dubai) and Ali Budeshi, who is suspected to be living in Bahrain.

Kingpins of drug trafficking cartels Sharad Shetty and Prem Shetty, who are known to have wide-spread connections at international level, also figure in the list.

The list of economic offenders include Didwania brothers, Bagaria brothers and Rastogi brothers — Ravindra and Virendra Rastogi.
The third brother of the Rastogis was nabbed by the CBI recently, sources said. Some economic offenders from south India also figure in the list.

Sources said some of the economic offenders have major cases of violations of Control of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (Cofeposa) against them. The Indian government will seek arrest and extradition of all the persons named in the ‘red alert’ papers.

Most of these criminals and economic offenders have set up legitimate businesses in Gulf countries and even in some European countries, including Britain with illegitimate and criminal money earned in India, according to sources in a law enforcement agency. Some of them have build up large business empires abroad.

Law enforcement agencies which have worked closely on these offenders include CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Narcotics Control Bureau, Intelligence Bureau and Economic Intelligence Bureau.

Officials of some of these agencies will accompany Mr Sivanandan to Dubai.