A special PMLA court in Shimla has declared a mother and son, promoters of a private university in Himachal Pradesh, as fugitive economic offenders (FEO) in a money laundering case related to the reported sale of “fake” degrees, officials said.
The declaration under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA), 2018, has been made against Mandeep Rana and his mother Ashoni Kanwar, they said.
The two are promoters of the Solan-based Manav Bharti University, along with the main promoter Raj Kumar Rana, who is Kanwar’s husband.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), both Mandeep Rana and Ashoni Kanwar are currently based in Australia. The ED had registered a case against the university promoters in 2020 under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In a statement issued in 2024, the agency alleged that Raj Kumar Rana and his associates had obtained proceeds of crime worth ₹387 crore through the sale of “fake” degrees.
The ED filed a chargesheet in December 2022 against Raj Kumar Rana and 15 others. The special PMLA court in Shimla later took cognisance of the case in January 2023 and issued summons to Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana.
As the two failed to comply with the court’s orders, the court issued open-ended non-bailable warrants against them in November 2023.
Following the FEO declaration, the agency will now move to confiscate the assets of the two accused.
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act aims to bring to justice individuals who leave India to evade legal proceedings after committing fraud involving at least ₹100 crore.
In the past, liquor baron Vijay Mallya and UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari have also been declared fugitive economic offenders.
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