Sir: Our government wants to bring home ill-gotten money stashed abroad. But, doing so requires a lot of innovative thinking and hard work, which is lacking in our FIA and NAB. We could learn from India’s experience. Take India’s Punjab Bank 11400-crore financial scam. The fraudsters were foreign-educated and knew how to dupe auditors and Reserve Bank of India to get massive loans and flee the country. India’s enforcement agencies made coordinated efforts to catch the fraudsters abroad, like the Enactment of Economic Offenders Bill, filing request under extradition and mutual legal assistance, and so on. Yet, India’s efforts may hit a block. Foreign laws allow indefinite leave to `offenders’ until provision of convincing proof of culpability. A fugitive offender may seek political asylum, if he is not entitled to `indefinite leave’ to stay in a foreign country. Despite hype about offender Mehul Choksy, Antigua (Caribbean island) declined India’s request for extradition. Before his flight abroad, Choksy obtained a passport without police verification. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation and the Central Board of Direct Taxes are still grappling with how to bring back Mallya, alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla, and Tiger Hanif. Notwithstanding extradition treaty with UK since 1993, it could get back only one offender. A senior executive of Nirav Modi’s firm has already obtained bail. Easier than confiscating foreign assets is making beneficiaries of written-off loans vomit the money back into the banks. But, could the new government do so when beneficiaries of loans include politicians across party lines, including a flying cash-bag falcon of the PTI? SJ MALIK Karachi Published in Daily Times, September 17th 2018.