New Delhi/Shimla, Jan 3 (PTI) A PMLA court in Shimla on Saturday declared a mother and son duo, promoters of a private varsity in Himachal Pradesh's Solan, as fugitive economic offenders (FEO) in a case linked to alleged sale of fake degrees to students in the state.

Special Judge Davinder Kumar issued the declaration under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA), 2018 against Mandeep Rana and his mother Ashoni Kanwar, the order accessed by PTI said.

The two are the son and wife of Raj Kumar Rana, the main promoter of Solan-based Manav Bharti University (MBU).

The court issued two separate but identical orders against the duo saying it has been "established" on record that they "knowingly evaded the process of Indian Law".

Therefore, the order said, this court is of the opinion that the respondents left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution and the total value involved in (in the case)... is one hundred crore rupees or more.

Both of the accused declared as FEO are presently based in Australia, according to the ED.

The federal probe agency registered a case against Raj Kumar Rana and others in 2020 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It, in a statement issued in 2024, had alleged that Raj Kumar Rana and his associates "obtained" proceeds of crime worth Rs 387 crore through the sale of "fake" degrees.

A chargesheet was filed by the ED in December 2022 against Raj Kumar Rana and 15 others. Subsequently, the PMLA court in Shimla took cognisance of the prosecution complaint in January 2023 and issued summons to Kanwar and Mandeep Rana.

The two "did not comply" with the court's order, and the court then issued open-ended non-bailable warrants against them in November 2023.

The agency, on the strength of the FEO declaration, will now move to confiscate the assets of the two, as per officials.

The FEOA is aimed at bringing to justice those people who have left India to evade the clutches of law after committing fraud with a benchmark value of at least Rs 100 crore.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya and UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari have been declared FEO in the past. PTI NES NB NB

Private university promoters declared fugitive economic offenders over alleged fake degree money laundering and assets to be seized. Declaration under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was issued against two university promoters after they allegedly evaded Indian process in a PMLA investigation into proceeds from purported sale of fake degrees exceeding one hundred crore rupees, enabling the enforcement agency to move for asset confiscation following prior summons, non bailable warrants, and a chargesheet against the main promoter and others.