London: Vijay Mallya lost Monday a United Kingdom (UK) High Court appeal against his extradition. It is a major turning point which brings India closer to getting back the embattled liquor tycoon. Vijay Mallya is wanted in the alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores.
The dismissal of the High Court appeal effectively clears the decks for Mallya’s extradition to India to face the charges in the Indian courts. Mallya has 14 days to apply for permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
If Mallya does apply, the UK Home Office would wait for the outcome of that appeal. But if he doesn’t, under the India-UK Extradition Treaty, it would then be expected to formally certify the court order for the him to be extradited to India within 28 days.
“We have held there is a prima facie case both of misrepresentation and of conspiracy. Thus there is also a prima facie case of money laundering,” the High Court concluded.
This marks a major turning point for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against Mallya. He has been on bail in the UK since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April 2017.
The former Kingfisher Airlines boss had appealed to the higher court against his extradition. It was ordered by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London in December 2018. Then it was signed by then UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February last year.
Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, the two-member bench at the Royal Courts of Justice in London presided over the appeal. They dismissed it in a judgement handed down this week 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 Emma Arbuthnot] is in some respects wider than that alleged by the Respondent in India (CBI and ED), there is a prima facie case which, in seven important respects, coincides with the allegations in India,” the judges noted.
The judges said they found that the loans in question were disbursed as the result of a conspiracy between the named conspirators. They were made despite Kingfisher Airline’s weak financials, negative net worth and low credit rating.
“The Appellant (Mallya) was party to false representations to induce the loans that funds would be inducted by way of unsecured loans, global depository receipts and equity,” they noted.
“The Appellant was party to false representations about inward investment, an exaggerated brand value, misleading growth forecasts, inconsistent business plans. The Appellant’s dishonest intention not to repay the loans is shown by his later conduct in trying to avoid the personal and corporate guarantees,” they said.
Mallya’s legal team had sought to challenge the Indian government’s case on multiple grounds. Among those whether their client would be safe at Barrack 12 in Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where he is to be held on extradition.
“Mallya has 14 days to apply for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. If he doesn’t appeal – removal within 28 days thereafter. If he does appeal, we wait for the outcome on that application,” said a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
PTI