MALLYA IS SET FOR AN EXTRADITION HEARING A joint team of CBI and ED is in London for the extradition hearing on Monday in a London court of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, wanted in India over non-payment of huge bank loans and a case of fraud and money laundering, an official said.
The CBI-ED team will assist their lawyers for securing Mallya's extradition -- the second extradition from the UK after signing an extradition treaty with the country 25 years ago. The extradition hearing is set for Monday in a Westminster Magistrates Court. Indian agencies told IANS they are confident of putting up solid evidence against Mallya and he should get extradited. According to sources, Mark Summers from Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will lead India's charge for the prosecution while Clare Montgomery will lead Mallya's defence. A CBI official said they have submitted a 2,000 page dossier on Mallya, detailing how he cheated Indian public sector banks and diverted the loans taken for Kingfisher Airlines over the years. Additional documentary evidence was also submitted in the Westminster Court recently, he added. Union Minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju last month held a discussion over Mally's extradition with visiting UK Minister of State for Immigration Brandon Lewis. There are serious charges of financial irregularities against Mallya amounting Rs 9,000 crore. Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel was the first to be extradited from Britain to India in late 2016. He was wanted in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Mallya was rearrested on October 3 by police in London in connection with a fraud and money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and was released on bail by a London court soon after. Mallya left India on March 2, 2016 for London, days after a consortium of 17 banks moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal to recover dues of Rs 9,081 crore, including interest, that was loaned to his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. In June. 2016 the Enforcement Directorate had told Interpol that it was "obligatory" on its part to issue a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Mallya in connection with an alleged Rs 9000 crore bank loan fraud. In a detailed communication to Interpol, the agency had said that it had followed all legal procedures for seeking RCN against him. It has also said that orders were issued by the courts after hearing the counsels of ED and Mallya, officials said. Mallya has since offered to negotiate with the banks for a one-time settlement of dues and sought the Supreme Court's intervention. |
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