A Delhi court has demanded clarification from the Ministry of External Affairs regarding the extradition of a former Bush Foods MD and his wife from London, who are implicated in a significant money laundering case tied to a Rs 750-crore bank fraud.
Key Points
- A Delhi court has requested the MEA to clarify the extradition status of Vir Karan Awasty and his wife, wanted in connection with a money laundering case.
- The case involves an alleged Rs 750-crore bank loan fraud committed by Bush Foods Overseas Pvt Ltd.
- The accused couple, Vir Karan Awasty and Ritika Awasty, are currently residing in London and have been absent from court proceedings.
- The UK High Court had previously quashed extradition proceedings against the couple, but the Indian government claims the proceedings are ongoing.
- The case originates from a 2014 FIR alleging manipulation of stocks and fictitious sales resulting in a Rs 1000 crore fraud.
A Delhi court has issued notice to the joint secretary of the Consular Passport and Visa division (CPV) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to clarify the position regarding extradition proceedings against a former managing director of Bush Foods Overseas Pvt Ltd (BFOPL) and his wife, who are currently residing in London.
Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Garg was hearing the arguments on the charge regarding a money laundering case instituted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against former non-executive director Sai Chandrasekhar and other key persons managing BFOPL.
The case was linked to an alleged Rs 750-crore bank loan fraud committed by misusing credit facilities on the basis of non-existent inventory.
In its order dated March 11, the court issued a summons to the accused couple, BFOPL MD Vir Karan Awasty and his wife Ritika Awasty, who have been absent from all court proceedings in the past several years.
The counsel for the accused couple argued that on May 7, 2025, the UK High Court had quashed the extradition proceedings initiated against them by the Government of India.
However, the special public prosecutor said the extradition proceedings for the accused persons are still ongoing, leading to ambiguity before the court regarding the status of the extradition proceedings against them.
The accused couple had earlier been arrested in London in 2019 after the Government of India sought their extradition in connection with multiple cases of fraud against them in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. On April 11, 2025, a senior district judge (chief magistrate) for England and Wales turned down the Indian government's request to extradite Awasty and his wife, citing the Sanjay Bhandari case where the UK High Court discharged Bhandari due to risk of extortion and violence at the hands of prisoners and prison officials.
The counsel for the accused couple had earlier stated that they could not be present for the court proceedings due to the conditions imposed by the UK magistrate court upon their discharge that prevent them from travelling to India and that the London Police had retained their passports.
The court has listed the matter for verification regarding extradition proceedings on April 10.
Background of the Bush Foods Case
The present case originates in 2014 when an FIR was filed by Hassad Netherlands BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar based company Hassad Foods Company, under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) against BFOPL and its directors, alleging they had deliberately manipulated stocks, inventories of their company and indulged in fictitious sales which resulted in huge account fraud of approximately Rs 1000 crore.
Based on the FIR, on February 26, 2019, the ED recorded its Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) to initiate an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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