<p class="title">The Enforcement Directorate Friday moved a special court here to get the owners of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech group, charged in an alleged Rs 8,100-crore bank loan fraud case, declared fugitive economic offenders under a new law, officials said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They said the central agency has filed a plea before a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking to declare Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel fugitives under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, brought by the Modi government this year to check cases of large bank frauds and similar crimes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"All the four are promoters of the Sterling Group and have fled the country to avoid criminal probe against them in a Rs 8,100-crore bank loan fraud involving a consortium of banks," a senior official said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The agency has also sought confiscation of the assets worth over Rs 5,000 crore of the Vadodara-based business family as part of the action under the fugitive law.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The agency has filed a fresh chargesheet in this case, under the PMLA, early this week and had charged the Sandesaras and others with money laundering and siphoning bank loans.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While the Sandesaras are reported to be based in Nigeria, Patel is said to be in the US.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The agency will also move for their extradition soon, they said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ED had made similar pleas, under the new fugitive law, against Vijay Mallya and diamond jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in separate bank loan money laundering probes. </p>
<p class="title">The Enforcement Directorate Friday moved a special court here to get the owners of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech group, charged in an alleged Rs 8,100-crore bank loan fraud case, declared fugitive economic offenders under a new law, officials said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They said the central agency has filed a plea before a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking to declare Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel fugitives under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, brought by the Modi government this year to check cases of large bank frauds and similar crimes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"All the four are promoters of the Sterling Group and have fled the country to avoid criminal probe against them in a Rs 8,100-crore bank loan fraud involving a consortium of banks," a senior official said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The agency has also sought confiscation of the assets worth over Rs 5,000 crore of the Vadodara-based business family as part of the action under the fugitive law.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The agency has filed a fresh chargesheet in this case, under the PMLA, early this week and had charged the Sandesaras and others with money laundering and siphoning bank loans.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While the Sandesaras are reported to be based in Nigeria, Patel is said to be in the US.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The agency will also move for their extradition soon, they said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ED had made similar pleas, under the new fugitive law, against Vijay Mallya and diamond jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in separate bank loan money laundering probes. </p>