Mishra fled India in 2020 and later acquired citizenship of Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation.

Updated on: Sep 5, 2026, 07:14:00 IST

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New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved a Delhi court to declare former Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing leader Vinay Mishra a fugitive economic offender (FEO) in cases linked to alleged coal and cattle smuggling in West Bengal, people familiar with the development said.

The agency moved the special court on September 2 under Sections 4 and 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, seeking to declare Mishra a fugitive economic offender and confiscate his properties, according to a copy of the application seen by .

Introduced by the government in 2018 to deter economic offenders from evading Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, the fugitive tag empowers authorities to confiscate the proceeds of crime and assets, where the amount involved is above ₹100 crore. The law also bars a declared fugitive economic offender from filing or defending civil claims in Indian courts.

If the court approves the ED’s request, Mishra will join the ranks of high-profile fugitives declared economic offenders, including Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Iqbal Mirchi’s wife Hajra Memon and sons Junaid and Asif, and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, an officer requesting anonymity said.

Mishra fled India in 2020 and later acquired citizenship of Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation. According to the ED, his brother Vikas Mishra received “proceeds of crime worth ₹730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and for themselves” in 2021 in connection with alleged illegal coal mining. The irregularities are estimated to be worth around ₹1,352 crore.

Vinay Mishra is also accused in a 2020 money laundering case linked to alleged cattle smuggling in West Bengal. The ED filed a charge sheet against him in April 2022 and has identified proceeds of crime worth more than ₹400 crore in the case.

The agency has alleged that cattle seized by the Border Security Force (BSF) were undervalued and auctioned with the help of some customs officers, allowing traders to buy them at throwaway prices and sell them in Bangladesh. A part of the proceeds allegedly went to some TMC leaders and government officers, the ED said in 2022.

In the coal pilferage case, the ED initiated its probe based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) first information report (FIR) registered in November 2020.

After arresting Ashok Kumar Mishra, former inspector-in-charge of Bankura police station, the ED told a Delhi court in April 2021 that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee was a beneficiary of funds generated through illegal mining, which was allegedly flourishing in the state under the patronage of the ruling party.

Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira were also questioned by the ED in connection with the case in March and June 2022, respectively.

“Investigation revealed a deep system of political patronage and well-oiled network by which the system was subverted to carry out these illegal activities in a brazen manner,” the ED said in a 2021 statement.

could not locate Mishra’s legal representative.

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