Ramachandran Vishwanathan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of Devas Multimedia private limited was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) by the special court in Bengaluru on Thursday. Vishwanathan is accused number 2 in Prevention of Money Laundering Act case taken by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in 2018.

Vishwanathan and nine other accused persons are alleged of cheating Rs 579 crore of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the United States of America. The amount was received by the firm as a part of a satellite deal with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2005, which was annulled in 2011.

ED had filed an application before the XXI Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge and Principal Special Judge for CBI cases, Bengaluru (CCH – 4) on May 4 under The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act for declaring the accused as FEO under sections 4, 10 and 12 of FEOA and for confiscation of the properties of the accused. Principal Special Judge KL Ashok, on hearing the argument placed by P Prasanna Kumar, Special Public Prosecutor, before the court passed the order on Thursday declaring Vishwanathan an FEO and confiscating the properties.

Vishwanathan failed to respond to the notice issued under FEOA and did not appear before the court in person.

The other nine accused individuals are currently facing trial in court, with Vishwanathan being the main accused in the case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initially took up the case against the accused individuals before the ED register a separate case.

A notice was issued to Vishwanathan, which was served on December 12, 2022, as per the communication received by the Ministry of External Affairs. Following Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, Vishwanathan becomes the third person to be declared an FEO. Vishwanathan is a US citizen residing in Cedar Wood Drive, North Bethesda, MD, USA. Under the FEOA, the properties of an FEO, including proceeds of crime, benami properties, and other assets, may be confiscated by the Special Court.

The amount in various bank accounts includes Rs 61.94 crore in term deposits, Rs 17.81 crore in mutual funds, and a balance of Rs 3.1 crore in the bank accounts of M/s. Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd, totalling Rs 82.86 crore.