A special court in Shimla has declared Mandeep Rana and his mother, Ashoni Kanwar, as Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) in connection with a ₹387 crore fake degree scam involving Manav Bharti University (MBU) in Solan, Himachal Pradesh. The order was issued on Saturday, January 3, 2026, by Special Judge Davinder Kumar under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) of 2018.

Mandeep Rana and Ashoni Kanwar are promoters of MBU, along with Raj Kumar Rana, Kanwar's husband. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case against them in 2020 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED alleged in 2024 that Raj Kumar Rana and his associates obtained ₹387 crore through the sale of fake degrees. A chargesheet was filed in December 2022 against Raj Kumar Rana and 15 others. The court took cognizance of the case in January 2023 and issued summons to Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana, but they did not comply. Open-ended non-bailable warrants were then issued against them in November 2023.

According to the ED, both Mandeep Rana and Ashoni Kanwar are currently based in Australia. The court declared that they "knowingly evaded the process of Indian Law" and left India to avoid criminal prosecution. With the FEO declaration, the ED will now move to confiscate their assets.

The FEOA targets individuals who have left India to avoid legal proceedings after committing fraud involving at least ₹100 crore. Vijay Mallya and Sanjay Bhandari have also been declared FEOs in the past.