The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday informed that the British government has certified India’s request for extradition of loan defaulting liquor baron Vijay Mallya and a UK court is considering issuing a warrant for the same.
“In February 2017, the UK government’s home office conveyed that India’s request for extradition of Mallya has been stratified by the secretary of state,” MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay told the reporters at a press briefing.
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He added that the UK Home office had forwarded the extradition plea to a district court in order to secure a formal warrant against Mallya.
“They further conveyed that it is sent to Westminster Magistrate‘s court for a district judge to consider the issue of releasing of a warrant,” Baglay said.
Earlier in February this year, the government had handed over a formal request for the absconding industrialist’s extradition to the UK High Commission, saying it had a legitimate case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.
Mallya fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued in courts by banks seeking to recover about Rs 9,000 crore owed by his company Kingfisher Airline. Despite multiple directives, he failed to appear before investigators at the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In January, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.