In a big win for India, the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has formally signed the extradition order for Vijay Mallya.
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya who is facing charges of fraud, money laundering and violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), can formally begin his appeal process. He can appeal against the decision of the UK Home Secretary within 14 days of the order.
Mallya, who became the first businessman to be declared EFO under the provisions of the new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, has been accused of defrauding Indian banks of Rs 9000 crore.
He left India in 2016 after a consortium of banks got together to start legal proceedings to recover the loans.
The 62-year-old has been on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April 2017. He has contested his extradition on the grounds that the case against him is ‘politically motivated’ and the loans he has been accused of defrauding on were sought to keep his now-defunct airline afloat.