English
London: In a blow to liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, The high court of England and Wales on Monday dismissed his appeal against his extradition to India, in relation to charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an alleged Rs 9,000 crores.
The 64-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss had appealed to the High Court against his extradition to India at a hearing in February this year.
Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, the two-member bench at the Royal Courts of Justice in London presiding over the appeal, dismissed the appeal in a judgment handed down remotely due to the current coronavirus lockdown.
“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,” the judges ruled.
Mallya is wanted in India under charges of financial fraud worth around Rs 9,000 crore in borrowings by his Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) from several Indian banks.
I have made repeated offers to pay 100 % of the amount borrowed by KFA to the Banks. Neither are Banks willing to take money and neither is the ED willing to release their attachments which they did at the behest of the Banks. I wish the FM would listen in this time of crisis.
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) March 31, 2020
Mallya had tweeted on March 31, saying, “I have made repeated offers to pay 100 percent of the amount borrowed by KFA to the Banks. Neither are Banks willing to take money and neither is the ED willing to release their attachments which they did at the behest of the Banks. I wish the FM would listen in this time of crisis.”
(With PTI inputs)
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