60. Attachment, seizure and confiscation, etc., of property in a contracting State or India.-(1) Where the Director has made an order for attachment of any property under section 5 or where an Adjudicating Authority has made an order confirming such attachment or confiscation of any property under section 8, and such property is suspected to be in a contracting State, the Special Court, on an application by the Director or the Administrator appointed under sub-section (1) of section 10, as the case may b , may issue a letter of request to a court or an authority in the contracting State for execution of such order.
(2) Where a letter of request is received by the Central Government from a court or an authority in a contracting State requesting attachment or confiscation of the property in India, derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, by any person from the co mission of an offence under section 3 committed in that contracting State, the Central Government may forward such letter of request to the Director, as it thinks fit, for execution in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(3) The Director shall, on receipt of a letter of request under section 58 or section 59, direct any authority under this Act to take all steps necessary for tracing and identifying such property.
(4) The steps referred to in sub-section (3) may include any inquiry, investigation or survey in respect of any person, place, property, assets, documents, books of account in any bank or public financial institutions or any other relevant matters.
(5) Any inquiry, investigation or survey referred to in sub-section (4) shall be carried out by an authority mentioned in sub-section (3) in accordance with such directions issued in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(6) The provisions of this Act relating to attachment, adjudication, confiscation and vesting of property in the Central Government contained in Chapter III and survey, searches and seizures contained in Chapter V shall apply to the property in respect of which letter of request is received from a court or contracting State for attachment or confiscation of property.
*[(7) When any property in India is confiscated as a result of execution of a request from a contracting State in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may either return such property to the requesting State or compensate that State by disposal of such property on mutually agreed terms that would take into account deduction for reasonable expenses incurred in investigation, prosecution or judicial proceedings leading to the return or disposal of confiscated property.]
*[Inserted by Prevention of Money-laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009]
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