CBI Extradites Monika Kapoor From U.S.
CBI announced on Wednesday that it successfully extradited alleged economic offender Monika Kapoor from the United States.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2025-07-09 17:17 GMT
NEW DELHI: The CBI announced on Wednesday that it successfully extradited alleged economic offender Monika Kapoor from the United States. An Interpol Red Notice had been issued against her, and a CBI team in the US took her into custody before boarding an American Airlines flight bound for India, expected to land late Wednesday night.
This marks the agency’s second major success in recent days, following the arrest of Nehal Modi in the US through sustained cooperation with American authorities.
According to a CBI spokesperson, Monika Kapoor, owner of Monika Overseas, conspired with her brothers, Rajan Khanna and Rajiv Khanna, to forge export documents in 1998, including shipping bills, invoices, and bank certificates of export and realisation. They secured six replenishment licences intended for importing duty-free materials for jewellery manufacturing and export, then sold those licences at a premium to Deep Exports, Ahmedabad. Deep Exports used the licences to import duty-free gold, causing a government revenue loss of ₹1.44 crore.
A chargesheet against Kapoor and her brothers was filed on March 31, 2004, accusing them of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of the Saket District Court in Delhi convicted Rajan Khanna and Rajiv Khanna in 2017. Kapoor, who did not appear for investigation or trial, was declared a proclaimed offender on February 13, 2006, after fleeing to the US in 1999 and overstaying her visa.
A Delhi special court issued an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2010, and India formally requested her extradition that October. In 2012, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York approved her extradition under the India-US bilateral treaty. Kapoor appealed, arguing that she would face torture if returned, a claim rejected by the US Secretary of State under the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998. After multiple legal challenges, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld her extradition in March 2025.
“This extradition marks a major breakthrough in the pursuit of justice and reiterates the CBI’s commitment to bringing fugitives to face the law in India, irrespective of international boundaries,” the agency spokesperson said. “Our team is returning with the fugitive; Monika Kapoor will be produced before the appropriate court and will now face trial.”
To date, the CBI has secured the return of more than 100 fugitives through mutual legal assistance and Interpol coordination, setting a record in cross-border law enforcement.