CBI brings back Monika Kapoor from US after over two decades on run in Rs 1.44 crore gold scam
Case dates back to 1999 | Monika allegedly forged export-related documents and unlawfully traded import licences
PTC Web Desk: In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully extradited Monika Kapoor, a long-absconding economic offender, from the United States after over two decades. Monika, who is being brought back on an American Airlines flight, faces trial in connection with a Rs 1.44 crore gold import fraud.
According to the CBI, this marks a "major breakthrough" in a case that dates back to 1999, when Monika allegedly forged export-related documents and unlawfully traded import licences.
Monika Kapoor was the proprietor of Delhi-based company M/s Monika Overseas. She is accused of fabricating shipping bills, invoices, and bank documents related to jewellery exports with the assistance of her brothers, Rajan and Rajeev Khanna.
Using these forged documents, the accused obtained six Replenishment Licences—duty-free permits provided to exporters for importing raw materials. Instead of using them legitimately, Kapoor allegedly sold these licences at a premium to an Ahmedabad-based company, Deep Exports. This enabled the firm to import gold without paying customs duties, causing a loss of approximately Rs 1.44 crore to the Indian government.
While Rajan and Rajeev Khanna were convicted in 2017, Monika Kapoor had fled the country and remained untraceable for years. The CBI initiated its investigation into the matter in 2002, filing a charge sheet in 2004 that named Monika Kapoor and her brothers in the charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery, and cheating. Kapoor was declared a proclaimed offender in February 2006.
In 2010, the CBI formally requested her extradition under the Indo-US extradition treaty. The request was cleared by a New York district court in 2012. However, Kapoor challenged the decision in higher courts, delaying the process.
Finally, in March 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed Kapoor's appeal, paving the way for her extradition. After more than three months of legal and diplomatic coordination, she has now been taken into CBI custody in India.
Kapoor will now face trial for her role in the fraudulent sale of duty-free import licences, bringing a key chapter in the gold scam case closer to closure.
