The Government of India has, on August 1, 2018, notified the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (‘Economic Offenders Act’) to deter fugitive economic offenders from evading the process of law by staying outside the jurisdiction of Courts in India. For operationalising the Economic Offenders Act, the Fugitive Economic Offenders (Procedure for Conducting Search and Seizure), Rules, 2018 have also been notified with effect from August 24, 2018. Some of the key provisions of the Economic Offenders Act are as follows:i.  A ‘fugitive economic offender’ has been defined as an individual against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for committing any prescribed offence (where the value exceeds Rs. 1 billion (US$13.5 million)), and has left the country to avoid facing prosecution or has refused to return to face prosecution.ii.  If any person to against whom an application have been filed, fails to appear post a notice issued by the Special Court, then such person would be declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’. Any property of the fugitive economic offender can be attached for 180 days, unless further extended by the special court. The properties shall be released if the person is not found to be a fugitive economic offender at the conclusion of proceedings.iii.  The Special Court is entitled to confiscate properties, free of encumbrances, of any person declared as a ‘fugitive economic offender’ which: (i) are proceeds of a crime; (ii) are benami properties in India or abroad; and (iii) any other property in India or abroad. However, the Special Court is empowered to exempt from confiscation, any property in which a third party has a bona fide interest, without knowledge of the fact that the property is a proceed of crime.