Fake degree case: Shimla court declares private varsity promoters fugitive economic offenders

“A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Shimla has declared two promoters of a Himachal Pradesh-based private University as Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged fake degree scam in Himachal Pradesh,” officials said.

“A declaration has been made under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) of 2018 against Mandeep Rana and his mother Ashoni Kanwar,” they said.

The two are the promoters of a Solan-based Manav Bharti University along with the main promoter and Kanwar’s husband, Raj Kumar Rana. Both of the accused declared as FEO are presently based in Australia, as per the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A charge sheet was filed by the ED in December 2022 against Raj Kumar Rana and 15 others. Subsequently, a special PMLA court took its cognisance in January 2023 and issued summons to Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana.

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 ₹100 crore.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya and U.K.-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari have been declared FEO in the past.