Lucknow court declares bizman Mohd Iqbal FEO, orders confiscation of Rs 995.75cr assets

LUCKNOW: A special court in Lucknow on Wednesday has declared businessman Mohd. Iqbal a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) and ordered the confiscation of assets worth Rs 995.75 crore in a major money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the sale of sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh. The order was passed by Special Judge Rahul Prakash under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 on an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).The case originates from a 2019 FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging that several state-owned sugar mills were sold at throwaway prices, causing significant loss to the public exchequer. Acting on the FIR, the ED initiated a money laundering probe and uncovered a complex financial network allegedly operated by Mohd. Iqbal and his associates.According to the ED’s Special Prosecutor, Kuldeep Srivastava, Iqbal used a web of shell companies and Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), including Dynamic Sugars Pvt. Ltd., Honeywell Sugars Pvt. Ltd., and Mallow Infratech Pvt. Ltd., to acquire sugar mills. Funds generated through alleged illegal mining activities were routed through layered transactions via entities such as V.K.

Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd., effectively masking the origin and ownership of the money.

The investigation revealed that Rs 14.43 crore, Rs 5.49 crore, and Rs 10.61 crore were channelled into these companies for acquiring Baitalpur, Bhatni, and Shahganj sugar mills respectively, which were later integrated into a corporate structure controlled by Iqbal.The court observed that these assets were acquired at grossly undervalued prices and clearly constituted “proceeds of crime” under the law.

It upheld the ED’s provisional attachment order issued in February 2025 and confirmed in July 2025, noting that corporate entities cannot be used as a shield to protect illegally acquired assets from confiscation.The court further found that Mohd. Iqbal had deliberately absconded from India and is currently residing in Dubai, UAE. Despite multiple summons issued by the ED and service through various means, he failed to join the investigation.

A non-bailable warrant was issued against him on November 24, 2025. The court held that his continued absence and refusal to return to India satisfied the legal requirements for declaring him a Fugitive Economic Offender.Objections filed by the three companies were rejected by the court. The firms had argued that they were independent legal entities with no direct connection to Iqbal and that multiple proceedings under different laws rendered the case unsustainable.

However, the court ruled that proceedings under the FEO Act are directed against the individual offender and are not invalidated by parallel proceedings under other statutes such as PMLA, SFIO, or NCLT.Emphasising the objective of the FEO Act as a special legislation aimed at deterring economic offenders from evading Indian law by remaining abroad, the court held that properties already identified as proceeds of crime under PMLA fall within the scope of confiscation under the FEO Act.Accordingly, the court declared Mohd. Iqbal a Fugitive Economic Offender and ordered that all properties listed in Annexure “G,” valued at Rs 995.75 crore, be confiscated to the Central Government, marking a significant step in India’s crackdown on absconding economic offenders and large-scale financial crimes.