In a boost to the probe against the Rastogi brothers, the United States is considering the extradition request of India for Narendra Rastogi wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a duty drawback scam worth Rs 171 crore (Rs 1.7 billion).
Narendra, meanwhile, continues to be under provisional arrest.
Highly-placed agency sources told PTI that the Justice Department of the US was examining the extradition request, which alleged his involvement in nearly six cases in the duty drawback scam.
Narendra was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US in May last year for allegedly defrauding banks around the world of an estimated $600 million by obtaining finance for sham transactions and then pledging them as collateral for loans.
The move by the US Justice Department comes as a welcome development for the CBI, which had been struggling for extradition or deportation of Narendra, his London-based brother Virender and Dubai-based brother Ravinder for quite some time.
The agency filed chargesheets against Narendra in Chennai and Mumbai courts for allegedly seeking false duty drawbacks on export consignments of bicycle parts, which turned out to be only scrap material.
The CBI has also secured a Red Corner notice against two Rastogi brothers -- Virender and Ravinder -- in connection with the same case.
The agency had moved France-based Interpol for issuance of Red Corner notice against them after filing chargesheet against the brothers, the sources said.
Although Virender has expressed his readiness to co-operate with CBI investigation by meeting them in London, the agency has asked him to make himself available with the Economic Offence Wing in Mumbai.
He, along with his three other brothers, is alleged to have floated 15 Delhi-based export companies, in collusion with certain customs officials, which exported bicycle parts to Russia and Hong Kong from Mumbai in 1995-96 at an exorbitant price and claimed excessive duty drawback on such exports causing a loss to the government.
The CBI had alleged that the brothers used to export scrap material but claimed duty drawback on cycle spare parts.
The fourth brother, Subash Rastogi, was arrested by the CBI on September 9 last year and was at present out on bail. However, as per the directions of the court, he has to make himself available to the CBI once every week.
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