New Delhi: A UK court on Monday ordered Vijay Mallya’s extradition, in a major boost to India’s efforts to bring back the fugitive wanted for alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an estimated Rs 9,000 crores.
Delivering the verdict, Westminster Magistrates’ Court Chief Magistrate Judge Emma Arbuthnot said that there was “no sign of a false case being mounted against him”.
“Having considered evidence as a whole. There is a case to answer,” Judge Arbuthnot said as she ruled that 62-year-old Mallya could be extradited to India to stand trial on the charges brought by the CBI and the ED.
Also read: Vijay Mallya to be Extradited to India, Orders UK Court
It’s not clear if Mallya will be sent to India immediately though, as the appeals process could take another few months if not a year.
Mallya’s case will now be sent to UK home secretary Sajid Javid. According to British law, Mallya will have 14 days to make an application for permission to appeal to a UK high court.
Earlier in the day, Mallya sought to disprove the narrative that he has “stolen” money and said his offer to repay the principal amount to the Indian banks was “not bogus”.
Mallya made the remarks while talking to reporters outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss was on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April last year.
“My settlement offer is made before the Karnataka High Court. It is not related to this extradition trial. Nobody disrespects a court of law by making a bogus offer. The assets have been attached by the ED so they cannot be bogus assets,” he said, asserting that his offer to repay the principal amount was not bogus.
Full text of the verdict:
Mallya Judgment 10.12.18 FINAL (003) by The Wire on Scribd