CBI secures extradition of fugitive Angad Singh Chandok from US
NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday succeeded in getting extradited fugitive economic offender, Angad Singh Chandhok, from the United States (US) to India, officials said.
Chandhok has been wanted by agencies in connection with a high-profile 2014 bank fraud and money laundering case and had been absconding for a long time. He was deported by the US authorities and landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport early Saturday morning, the officials said.
Soon after his arrival, CBI sleuths took Chandhok under detention. After legal compliances, he was arrested and produced before the concerned court here, from where he was sent to judicial custody, the officials said.
The CBI closely coordinated and succeeded in getting Chandhok returned to India.
“Chandhok is wanted by the CBI in a bank fraud case registered on July 24 2014 on the allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery. He along with his family members - father Surendra Singh, mother Harleen Kaur and brother Harsahib Singh - in a criminal conspiracy with four other accused including bank officials had cheated the Union Bank of India causing wrongful loss to the bank,” a senior CBI official said.
Chandhok along with his family members fled the country in 2016 to escape from the legal proceedings, the official said, adding that they were declared Proclaimed Offenders and open-ended arrest warrants were issued against them by a local court here.
CBI had issued a Red Notice against Chandhok through INTERPOL on March 22, 2017 and was circulated to all the law enforcement agencies globally for tracking of the wanted criminal and followed up through INTERPOL channels regularly. On the strength of our Red Notice, he has been deported from the US to Delhi. Chandok's return marks an important milestone in India’s efforts to crack down on economic fugitives, who escape justice by fleeing the country. It also highlights the growing collaboration between Indian and international law enforcement agencies, especially with the US, in addressing financial crimes that have cross-border implications, the officials said.
Chandok, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison by a US court in 2022. “The court had convicted Chandhok in connection with large-scale online fraud wherein he and his associates posed as tech support providers, deceiving victims into transferring substantial sums of money.
According to a March 2022 press statement from the US Department of Justice, he was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the scheme,” said an official.
His deportation is expected to strengthen India’s resolve in pursuing economic offenders and bringing them to justice, regardless of their location, the officials said, adding that efforts are on to ensure return of other family members of Chandhok, who are also wanted in the case.