New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday successfully extradited Munawar Khan, a fugitive wanted for defrauding public sector banks, from Kuwait.
Khan, facing multiple cases of forgery and cheating, had been under the scanner of international agencies following the issuance of a Red Corner Notice. He was brought back to India by the International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) of the CBI in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Kuwait’s National Central Bureau (NCB).
The extradition was executed through INTERPOL channels. Khan, escorted by a team of Kuwait Police, arrived at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, where a team from CBI’s Special Task Branch (STB), Chennai, took him into custody on Thursday. He had been geo-located in Kuwait through persistent follow-ups by the CBI with NCB-Kuwait via INTERPOL.
Khan came under the CBI’s lens after a case was filed against him for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery. Investigators alleged that he and his associates defrauded the Bank of Baroda and fled to the Gulf soon after. He was later declared a proclaimed offender.
The CBI secured a Red Corner Notice against him in February 2022 on the request of its STB Chennai branch. Following his arrest in Kuwait, the country’s authorities approved his extradition to India.
The Red Corner Notice had been circulated to law enforcement agencies worldwide to track the fugitive.
The CBI, which coordinates with domestic law enforcement bodies through BHARATPOL for INTERPOL assistance, has brought back more than 130 wanted criminals to India in recent years via INTERPOL channels.
With IANS inputs