Fugitive Businessman Praveen Kumar Kapoor Deported To India After Being Stopped In US

Stopped by the authorities based on an Interpol ‘red notice’, fugitive businessman Praveen Kumar Kapoor has been deported to India from the United States.

Praveen Kumar Kapoor, the co-founder and promoter

of the realty firm SRS Group, is accused of cheating investors and banks of Rs 2,200 crore.

The US authorities intercepted Kapoor while he was travelling to New York. “The Interpol Washington office informed us that the fugitive businessman, Praveen Kumar Kapoor, was travelling on October 31 to New York,” an officer familiar with the development was quoted by

Hindustan Times.

Officials said 62-year-old Kapoor was stopped at Newark International Airport, based on the Interpol ‘red notice’ issued earlier this year. Following his detention, his B1/B2 visa was cancelled and he was deported to India on November 1.

The Hindustan Times report said he was immediately taken into custody when he arrived at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport November 2. He is now being questioned about the whereabouts of his aides, identified as Jitender Kumar Garg and Sunil Jindal, the report said.

Kapoor, Garg and Jindal had been on the run over the past several years. Officials said while Kapoor was believed to be living in Dubai, his co-accused were believed to be hiding in Georgia.

WHAT IS THE CASE?

The SRS Group and its promoter-directors are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Haryana police in multiple cases. The ED’s money laundering investigation is based on 81 FIRs filed at different police stations.

The probe revealed that the SRS Group allegedly lured investors to invest in the company in lieu of promise of high returns as well as into various residential and commercial projects. Investigators said Kapoor and his aides hatched a criminal conspiracy, leading to massive losses for investors and homebuyers.

The accused allegedly inflated the company’s books by way of circular transactions and round tripping of funds to secure loans from both private and public sector banks, which were then diverted to shell companies. The ED, which has already attached assets worth Rs 2,215 crore in the case, had initiated proceedings in August to declare Kapoor, Garg, and Jindal as fugitive economic offenders (FEOs).