Lok Sabha approves fugitive economic offenders bill

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, approved a bill on Thursday empowering the authorities to seize assets of super-rich fugitives whose economic offences or crimes involve sums over 1 billion rupees ($14.47 million).

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill would replace an earlier executive order, introduced by the government to initiate seizure of assets of Mumbai jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who have fled the country, after being accused of an over $2 billion bank fraud.

($1 = 69.1000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon)