CBI secures extradition of fugitive economic offender from US 

After over 25 years on the run, alleged economic offender Monika Kapoor was extradited from the US to India by the CBI. Accused of export fraud and forgery, Kapoor evaded trial since 1999. Her return follows prolonged legal proceeding

New Delhi: The CBI successfully extradited alleged economic offender Monika Kapoor from the United States on Wednesday, bringing an end to her more than 25-year flight from justice, officials said. Kapoor, who had an Interpol Red Notice against her, was taken into custody in the US by a CBI team which has boarded an American Airlines flight AA 292 expected to land here Wednesday night, they said.

This marks the second major success for the agency in recent days, following the arrest of Nehal Modi in the US through sustained cooperation with American authorities.

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“This extradition marks a major breakthrough in the pursuit of justice and reiterates CBI’s commitment to bringing fugitives to face the law in India, irrespective of international boundaries. The CBI team is returning to India with the fugitive. Monika will be produced before the court concerned and she will now face the trial,” CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

In total, the CBI has secured the return of more than 100 fugitives in recent years through mutual legal assistance or Interpol coordination, setting a record of sorts in cross-border enforcement.

Kapoor, the owner of Monika Overseas, in conspiracy with her brothers Rajan Khanna and Rajiv Khanna, allegedly forged export documents – shipping bills, invoices and bank certificates of export and realisation in 1998, the CBI spokesperson said here.

She, along with her two brothers, allegedly forged documents to obtain six replenishment licences meant for importing duty-free materials for jewellery manufacturing and export, the agency said.

In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, they sold the licences to Deep Exports, Ahmedabad on a premium, she said. Deep Exports, Ahmedabad used the said licences and imported duty free gold which caused loss to the government exchequer to the extent of Rs 1.44 crore, the spokesperson said.

A charge sheet against her and her brothers was filed on March 31, 2004 for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, District Court Saket, New Delhi had convicted Rajan Khanna and Rajeev Khanna in 2017. Kapoor did not join the investigation and trial, and she was declared a proclaimed offender by the court on February 13, 2006.

She went to the US in 1999 after allegedly committing fraud in India and overstayed her visa.

A Delhi special court had issued an arrest warrant against Kapoor in 2010. India sought her extradition in October that year. Kapoor’s extradition was cleared by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under the bilateral extradition treaty between India and the US in 2012.

She appealed to the secretary of state, claiming she would face torture if extradited and also tapped a number of legal options on various grounds in the US, according to the documents of the US courts.

The secretary of state subsequently signed a surrender warrant after rejecting Kapoor’s argument that her return would violate the United Nations Convention Against Torture, as implemented by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (FARRA).

After years of legal proceedings, including multiple challenges in US courts and administrative forums, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit finally upheld the extradition in March 2025.