Mallya was declared as a fugitive economic offender in January 2019 by a special court in Mumbai…reports Asian Lite News.
The Indian government has the “best assurance” from the UK authorities on fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s extradition, according to Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who concluded a two day visit to UK recently.
Shringla said India has made its best case on Mallya being wanted for economic offences such as fraud and money laundering related to unpaid loans to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
In response to question on the long delay in Mallya’s extradition, Shringla told reportees: “We have been given to understand that there is a process in place and that the British side is working on his (Mallya) extradition based on that process.”
It is reported that the delay in Mallya’s extradition is because it is believed to be undergoing a “confidential” asylum application process after all legal appeals were exhausted last year.
The Foreign Secretary added: “We have no reason to doubt that assurance that this man wanted for economic offences in India, owes a lot of money in India has to be returned to the country. We have made our best case and they have given their best assurance.”
Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri I. Kumar said that the Indian mission in London has been keeping the pressure on over the issue.
Mallya was declared as a fugitive economic offender in January 2019 by a special court in Mumbai.
The 65-year-old has gone through and exhausted the full legal procedures available to him to fight the government’s effort to extradite him to India to face charges of defrauding a consortium of banks of more than a billion dollars in relation to the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines in 2013.
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