Kuwait City: Indian national Munawar Khan, wanted in a major bank fraud case, has been deported from Kuwait and handed over to Indian authorities through Interpol channels, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) confirmed on Thursday, September 11.
In a statement posted on X, the CBI said that Khan was escorted by Kuwaiti police to Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, where custody was formally transferred to a CBI team from the special task branch (STB), Chennai.
Khan faces charges under FIR RC 3(S)/2011, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, and defrauding the Bank of Baroda. Following the alleged fraud, he fled to Kuwait and was declared a proclaimed offender.
A red notice was issued against Khan on February 7, 2022, at the request of the CBI’s Chennai branch. Acting on the notice, Kuwaiti authorities arrested him, paving the way for his deportation. The CBI’s international police cooperation unit (IPCU), in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and NCB-Kuwait, facilitated the transfer.
The CBI highlighted that the operation underscores the role of international cooperation in tracking fugitives. Over the past few years, more than 130 individuals have been repatriated to India through Interpol assistance.
This comes just days after, on Friday, September 5, the CBI, along with Gujarat Police, MEA and the Ministry of Home Affairs, secured the return of fugitive Harshit Babulal Jain from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a Rs 2,300 crore betting and money laundering case.
