The Federal Bureau of Investigation or the FBI is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. It operates under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice and is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. It is the United States’ leading counter-terrorism, counterintelligence and criminal investigative organization and has jurisdictions over infringement of over 200 categories of federal crimes.

The Legal Attache program

The FBI apart from operating domestically also has a remarkable global trail. It operates 63 Lega Attache (LEGAT) offices and over 24 sub-offices in U.S. embassies and consulates present in key cities across international borders. Over 180 countries, territories and islands have been provided coverage. It is only after a mutual agreement with the host country that each office is set up, situated in the U.S. embassy or consulate in that nation[1].

These international offices aid the FBI in primarily coordinating with foreign security services. These offices have special agents who work in close coordination with their counterparts in foreign countries in order to gather information for the FBI on crimes and criminals that could pose threat to the U.S. citizens or the country’s interests in general. These Legal Attache offices aim to build up links that can facilitate access to the information that the FBI needs in order to locate, track and extradite international criminals or terrorists[2][1].

The Legal Attache program primarily functions on a coordinative basis with the law enforcement and security agencies of the host country in order to conduct investigations that could be of general interest to both the countries. There is no foreign intelligence gathering or counterintelligence investigations attached to this program. Generally there is a formal agreement that the U.S. and the host nation draws out in order to dictate the terms of carrying out joint activities and information sharing. Direct synchronization with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of State, Interpol and other law enforcement and security entities play an important role for the negotiations of bilateral and multilateral law enforcement treaties. These are majorly used to successfully extradite fugitives and collate informative evidence from foreign countries.

Following are the primary duties involved under the program[3]:

• Coordinating requests for FBI or host country assistance overseas;
• Conducting investigations in coordination with the host government;
• Sharing investigative leads and information;
• Briefing embassy counterparts from other agencies;
• Including both law enforcement agencies and ambassadors;
• Coordinating victim and humanitarian assistance, etc.

How To Report Threats and Crime?[4]

• The public can report violations of the U.S. federal law using Online Tips and Public leads form[5].
• One can also directly contact the local FBI Office or the closest international office which is nothing but the U.S. embassy present in the host country[6].
• One can also report cyber crimes with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center[7].

Crimes Committed Against U.S. Citizens in India

The local criminal justice system helps in the deliverance of justice to a U.S. crime victim in India. The investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, although the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may assist local authorities in certain cases of kidnapping, hostage-taking and terrorism[2].

• Reporting of crime takes place through filing an FIR at the police station with the jurisdiction to do so. Then, the embassy or the Consulate also needs to be informed. The latter can be contacted when the foreign victim has difficulty filing police report with an official.
• The investigation is carried out by the local police. The U.S. FBI can assist at the request of the police or the CBI, however, that’s generally not the case.
• A consular officer sometimes attends court hearings if his or her presence is deemed necessary to demonstrate the concern of the Embassy. The consul only attends as an observer and does not participate in the hearing[3].

The rest of the proceedings remain the same as in the case of a native victim.

Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs)

MLATs are largely “designed to facilitate widest measures of mutual assistance in investigation, prosecution and prevention of crime”[4]. A mutual legal assistance request is commonly used when a criminal case suspect residing in a foreign country needs to be formally interrogated. These are bilateral agreements through which prosecutors can seek help from the investigative authorities of other nations in  order to secure physical, documentary or testimonial evidence alike[5].

The scope of assistance in a MLAT between the U.S and India envisages providing mutual assistance to each other at length with respect to the investigation, prosecution and combating criminal offences. The assistance sought is irrespective of whether the offense forming the subject matter of investigation in the Requesting State constitutes an offence as per the laws of the Requested State.

The ambit of assistance is inclusive of the following:

a) taking the testimony or statements of persons;

b) providing documents, records, and items of evidence;

c) locating or identifying persons or items;

d) serving documents;

e) transferring persons in custody for testimony or other purposes:

f) executing requests for searches and seizures;

g) assisting in proceedings related to seizure and forfeiture of assets, restitution, collection of fines; and

h) any other form of assistance not prohibited by the laws of the Requested State[8].

The aforementioned treaty was apparently signed between the U.S and India at New Delhi on October 17, 2001[9].

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 -Written by Pankhuri Swarnim

 

 

 

 

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[1] https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legal-attache-offices

[2] https://fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/legat.pdf

[3] https://www.fbi.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/international-operations

[4] https://photos.state.gov/libraries/india/231771/PDFs/india-victim-assistance-handout-july-2010.pdf

[5] https://photos.state.gov/libraries/india/231771/PDFs/india-victim-assistance-handout-july-2010.pdf

[6] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cbi-fbi-join-hands-to-reduce-time-required-to-fulfil-requests-on-information-and-evidence/articleshow/50069794.cms?from=mdr

[7] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=dba0c8ef-f6ce-4af0-af7a-9b812d736248

[8] http://www.cbi.gov.in/interpol/mlat/UnitedStatesofAmerica.pdf

[9] https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/05-1003-India-Mutual-Legal-Assist-Treaty.pdf