Kolkata court confiscates Rs 24 crore in Pushpesh Kumar Baid FEO case

What the Record Shows

A special court in Kolkata declared Pushpesh Kumar Baid a fugitive economic offender and ordered the confiscation of assets connected to an alleged bank fraud. Per the order of the Special Court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 in Kolkata, he was declared a fugitive economic offender on 3 January 2024, and on 28 November 2024 the same court ordered the confiscation of movable and immovable property worth about Rs 24 crore, located in Kolkata in West Bengal and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, as announced by the Enforcement Directorate.

The declaration follows years of criminal proceedings. The Calcutta High Court, in a revision order dated 25 August 2017, recorded that Baid was an absconding accused in a CBI case concerning a Dena Bank facility and upheld the framing of charges under Sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. He is named among 15 declared fugitive economic offenders in the Union Government's reply to the Lok Sabha of 1 December 2025.

The Enforcement Directorate has said he is residing in the United States, and a non-bailable warrant against him is outstanding. The agency filed its prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in February 2022, after the CBI cases that first brought the alleged lending fraud to court.

Two points frame what follows. A provisional attachment, a confiscation under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and a fugitive-offender declaration are steps to secure assets, not findings of guilt. And the criminal allegations against him have not been tested at a trial in India, because he has not appeared to face them. This report concerns only those Indian proceedings.

How It Worked

The clearest record of the underlying allegation is the Calcutta High Court's 2017 order. The court recorded that, per the CBI, a facility was availed from the Dena Bank branch at Brabourne Road, Calcutta, comprising a cash credit limit of Rs 20.50 crore and a letter of credit limit of Rs 5 crore, with an alleged loss to the bank of about Rs 20 crore. The court noted the CBI's allegation that "forged and fabricated instrument had purported to create an equitable mortgage" over a godown, while a different godown belonging to other persons was shown to bank officials. On that footing the court upheld the charges under Sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and directed an expeditious trial.

That Dena Bank facility is one strand of a wider case. Per the Enforcement Directorate, companies that Baid owned and controlled availed loans from the State Bank of India, Dena Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Allahabad Bank on the strength of false financial statements and forged documents, and the loan funds were diverted through accounts opened in the names of employees and associates. The agency has put the total credit availed at about Rs 183 crore. Those characterisations are the agency's allegations and remain untested at trial.

The procedural sequence runs from the CBI first information reports and the framing of charges in 2016, through the Enforcement Directorate's prosecution complaint under the PMLA in February 2022, to the declaration of Baid as a fugitive economic offender on 3 January 2024. With the declaration in place, the special court ordered the confiscation of the identified property on 28 November 2024, a step the 2018 Act permits once a person has been declared a fugitive economic offender.

Who Lost Money

The creditors are public-sector banks. Per the Enforcement Directorate, five lenders were involved, the State Bank of India, Dena Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Allahabad Bank, several of which have since been merged into larger banks. The agency has placed the total credit availed at about Rs 183 crore, while the court-recorded loss in the Dena Bank matter alone was about Rs 20 crore.

Those figures are claims and allegations, not sums the banks have got back. Recovery in this matter turns on the property the special court confiscated, valued at about Rs 24 crore in Kolkata and Tiruppur. That is a fraction of the credit the agency says was availed, and it reflects the difficulty of realising value when the accused and much of the money are said to be abroad.

With Baid stated to be in the United States and a non-bailable warrant outstanding, the banks' recovery remains incomplete. Any value from the confiscated property passes to the Central Government under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, and its application towards the lenders' claims is a separate, slower process.

Where It Stands Now

As of today, Pushpesh Kumar Baid has not been convicted in India. He stands declared a fugitive economic offender since 3 January 2024, property worth about Rs 24 crore has been confiscated under the 2024 order, a non-bailable warrant is outstanding, and the Enforcement Directorate states he is in the United States. The CBI cases, in which charges were framed years ago, remain pending because the accused has not appeared for trial.

A review of the record to 31 July 2026 shows nothing reversing that position: the fugitive-offender status and the confiscation stand, and the Indian criminal proceedings await the accused. The matter has not reached a verdict on the underlying allegations.

A prosecution complaint, a fugitive-offender declaration and a confiscation order contain allegations and preventive measures, not findings of guilt; the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues. Readers can follow comparable matters through the Oquilia enforcement archive.

What It Means

The case is a textbook use of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. When an accused leaves the country, an ordinary criminal trial can stall for want of the accused, and assets can sit frozen indefinitely. The Act lets a special court declare the person a fugitive economic offender and then confiscate the identified property to the Central Government even before the trial concludes, which is why a confiscation figure can be announced while the charges are still to be tried.

For anyone reading the numbers, the practical point is the distance between a claimed loss and an actual recovery. The Enforcement Directorate has put the credit availed at about Rs 183 crore, while the property confiscated so far is worth about Rs 24 crore. A confiscation secures assets; it does not by itself make the banks whole, and it is not a criminal conviction. Comparable dynamics appear in other fugitive-offender files, such as the Zylog Systems declaration and the Sterling Biotech settlement.

The broader lesson is that a fugitive-offender declaration is a tool to hold assets, not a substitute for a trial. Until the accused faces the court, the question of guilt on the loan allegations stays open.

FAQ

Was Pushpesh Kumar Baid found guilty?

No. He has not been convicted in India. A special court in Kolkata declared him a fugitive economic offender on 3 January 2024, which is a preventive status under the 2018 Act, not a finding of guilt, and the underlying CBI cases remain pending trial because he has not appeared to face them.

Does this mean the person named is guilty?

No. A prosecution complaint, a fugitive-offender declaration and a confiscation order contain allegations and preventive measures, not findings of guilt; the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues.

What did the Kolkata court order?

Per the Special Court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, Baid was declared a fugitive economic offender on 3 January 2024, and on 28 November 2024 the court ordered the confiscation of movable and immovable property worth about Rs 24 crore in Kolkata and Tiruppur, as announced by the Enforcement Directorate.

Which banks were involved?

Per the Enforcement Directorate, the lenders were the State Bank of India, Dena Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Allahabad Bank. The Calcutta High Court's 2017 order separately records a Dena Bank facility of Rs 20.50 crore in cash credit and Rs 5 crore in letters of credit, with an alleged loss of about Rs 20 crore.

Have the banks recovered their money?

Not in full. Property worth about Rs 24 crore has been confiscated to the Central Government, against a total credit the Enforcement Directorate places at about Rs 183 crore. With the accused stated to be abroad and a non-bailable warrant outstanding, recovery remains incomplete.

Where can I read the official record?

The Calcutta High Court's revision order of 25 August 2017, which records the CBI case and the framing of charges, and the Lok Sabha record listing Baid among fugitive economic offenders are on Indian Kanoon and are linked at the foot of this report.

This report is based on the Calcutta High Court revision order of 25 August 2017 recording the CBI case and charges and the Lok Sabha record listing Pushpesh Kumar Baid among fugitive economic offenders, together with the Enforcement Directorate's announcement of the Special Court, Kolkata orders declaring him a fugitive economic offender and confiscating his property, reviewed on 31 July 2026.