Meet India's Latest Fugitive Fraudster Ramachandran Vishwanathan, Who Has Joined Mallya, Nirav Modi And 70 Others

Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi are just posterboys for the practice of siphoning off money and fleeing India, as 72 economic offenders have left the country since 2015. The list also includes fugitive Sandesara brothers thriving in Nigeria and Jatin Mehta, the father-in-law of Vinod Adani's son, being let off by a UK court.

India's latest financial fugitive is Devas Multimedia's Chief Executive Officer Ramachandran Vishwanathan, who fled the country after siphoning off Rs 579 crore from the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Robbed India's space research agency

In a 2018 case filed by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, a special court in Bengaluru declared him a Fugitive Economic Offender.

Vishwanathan is one of nine accused of diverting 85 per cent of Rs 579 crore from Antrix Corporation, which is ISRO's commercial arm.

Devas was supposed to use ISRO satellites for multimedia services, but that deal was called off by the Indian government in 2011, and the firm was liquidated after a decade.

Before ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation had also filed a case against Vishwanathan and others in the matter.

Has also slandered government officials

The fraudster now in the US, had also placed a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, accusing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Modi government officials of weaponising institutions to settle scores.

The special court declared Vishwanathan a fugitive after noting that he failed to appear in court even after a summons was served.