Vijay Mallya loses plea against extradition to India in UK High Court

UK High Court dismissed plea by Vijay Mallya against his extradition to India.

The final decision on this will be made by UK home secretary, Priti Patel.

“We consider that while the scope of the prima facie case found by the SDJ [Senior District Judge] is in some respects wider than that alleged by the Respondent in India [Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED)], there is a prima facie case which, in seven important respects, coincides with the allegations in India," informed the two-member bench at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Mallya had earlier informed that despite repeated requests to pay 100 % of the amount borrowed by KFA to the Banks, nobody is willing to listen to him. At the same time he supported the decision of the government to lockdown the entire country.

Also, a Special Court in Mumbai has given the green signal to banks to dispose off the economic assets of absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya to recover their dues, official sources had said.

The directions to the consortium of 15 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to dispose of Mallya’s economic assets like financial securities and shares in his companies, which have been under attachment since 2016, came a few months ago.

The lenders’ consortium has to recover over Rs 6,000 crore plus interest from Mallya, currently in the United Kingdom, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Special Court last year that it had no objections to the same.

Among the assets are Mallya’s shares in the United Breweries Holdings Ltd, the value of which is not clear, but which were attached after he was declared a proclaimed offender. Later in January 2019, Mallya earned the dubious distinction of being declared the country’s first “fugitive economic offender” under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.

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