Fake degrees: 2 Australia-based accused declared fugitive offenders by Shimla ED court

New Delhi, Jan 5 A Special Court (PMLA), Shimla, declared a man from Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district and his mother, involved in a Rs 387 crore Manav Bharti University fake degree scam, as Fugitive Economic Offenders as they have fled to Australia, an official said on Monday.

Mandeep Rana and his mother Ashoni Kanwar were declared Fugitive Economic Offenders by the Special Court on Saturday, accepting the application filed by the ED, Shimla Sub Zonal Office, the official said in a statement.

The two are allegedly involved in money laundering linked to the fake degree scam perpetrated by Mandeep Rana’s father, Raj Kumar Rana, an official said, adding they were declared fugitives under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) 2018.

The ED initiated an investigation based on three FIRs registered by the Dharampur Police Station, district Solan, Himachal Pradesh, under various sections of the IPC, 1860.

The ED investigation revealed that the accused Raj Kumar Rana, with the help of his other co-accused, including his wife Ashoni Kanwar and son Mandeep Rana, sold fake degrees in lieu of money from agents/students.

These fake degrees were sold in the name of Manav Bharti University, Solan, and the Proceeds of Crime generated through the sale of fake degrees are quantified at Rs 387 crore, said the statement.

The money obtained from this illegal activity was used by Raj Kumar Rana, Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana to acquire various movable and immovable assets across various states in their own names and in the names of other related entities, the ED said

The federal probe agency has so far attached assets amounting to Rs 200 crore till date in the matter, and the attachments have been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, PMLA, said the statement.

Earlier in this case, the ED had also filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) before the Special Court (PMLA), Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, against 14 persons and two entities, including Raj Kumar Rana, Ashoni Kanwar, Mandeep Rana and others under the PMLA, 2002.

The Special Court (PMLA) took cognisance of the chargesheet on January 4, 2023 and issued summons to Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana, which were not complied with by them. Later, open-ended non-bailable warrants (NBW) were issued by the Special Court on November 4, 2023, against Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana.

Further, during the course of investigation, it was revealed that Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana had both fled the country after registration of FIRs against Manav Bharti University and are presently residing in Australia, said the statement.

Both persons were summoned to join the investigation, but they never joined the investigation. Moreover, all our efforts were made to bring both the accused back to India to face the trial, but both accused refused to return to India to face criminal prosecution, it said.

Accordingly, an application under FEOA, 2018 was filed by ED, Shimla Sub Zonal Office, as per section 4 of the FEOA, 2018 seeking to declare Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana as Fugitive Economic Offenders, and the same was allowed by the Special Court (PMLA), Shimla, in its order delivered on January 3.

--IANS

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