New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has secured the return to India of Harnek Singh, a long-absconding accused wanted in a financial fraud case dating back to 2013.
Singh, against whom an Interpol Red Notice and a Look-Out Circular (LOC) were in force, was deported from the United States and taken into custody by CBI officials after arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
The CBI had registered a case in Delhi in 2016 involving allegations of conspiracy, cheating, forgery and the use of forged documents as genuine under the Indian Penal Code, along with offences under the Information Technology Act.
According to the investigation, fraudsters based in India allegedly targeted Indian nationals living or working in Singapore in 2013 through spoofed telephone calls. Posing as Singapore immigration officials, they falsely claimed that the victims had provided incorrect information in airport disembarkation forms and faced possible prosecution and deportation.
The victims were subsequently pressured into paying purported fines or settlement charges through Western Union Money Transfer to designated recipients in India.
The CBI investigation found that the fraudulently obtained funds were received through a money-transfer outlet operated by Singh, allegedly in association with co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain.
Singh reportedly left India in May 2013 and later entered the United States illegally, where he remained outside the reach of Indian investigators for more than a decade.
Meanwhile, proceedings against Bhardwaj and Jain were completed, and both were convicted by the concerned court in June 2025.
The CBI said that summons and a bailable warrant were served on Singh in the United States through the U.S. Department of Justice. However, he did not appear before the trial court. In April 2024, the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula, issued an open-dated non-bailable warrant against him.
The agency subsequently pursued the case through Interpol channels, leading to the publication of a Red Notice against Singh. A Look-Out Circular was also issued in connection with his passport.
The CBI’s latest action marks the culmination of a prolonged international effort to locate and bring back the accused to face proceedings in India.
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