It has been reported that the liquor baron Vijay Mallya has decided to come to India to fight his legal battles in the country.
Mallya is negotiating with the Indian government to return home voluntarily and settle his dues.
According to an inside source: “He has apparently approached the enforcement directorate (ED) to come back to India but nothing has been guaranteed to him. Even if he does come back, it does not mean he will not be prosecuted. He would then fight his case in Indian courts. He will probably spend one or two days in jail and then get bail. If he voluntarily returns, we can issue emergency travel documents to him and the extradition case faces a natural death.”
“He will be arrested immediately upon his arrival in India though. There are no plans to drop the criminal charges against him. He has to face justice. Then it’s up to the courts in India to decide if he committed fraud or if it was business failure. The government of India will try to prove it was fraud. I don’t know why he has approached the ED as the extradition trial in the UK is being brought by the CBI. If he wants to go back and face the Indian courts, we will ask the UK government to return his passport. We want him back whether voluntary or not.”
A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai had last month issued summons to the beleaguered businessman to appear before it on August 27 on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea seeking action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance in the over Rs 9,000 crore bank fraud case.
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The central probe agency, as part of this action, has also sought immediate confiscation of assets worth around Rs 12,500 crore of Mallya.
If he does not appear before the court or respond to its summons on the designated date, Mallya risks being declared a fugitive economic offender, besides properties linked to him being confiscated.
Mallya, his now-defunct venture Kingfisher Airlines Limited and others availed loans from various banks during the tenure of the UPA-I government and the outstanding amount, including interest, against him is Rs 9,990.07 crore at present, officials had said.
He had recently said he has become the “poster boy” of bank default and a lightning rod for public anger.
The liquor baron had said that he had written letters to both the prime minister and the finance minister on April 15, 2016, to explain his side of the story.
Both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have filed separate criminal cases of alleged loan default against him.
A hearing in the extradition case is expected to be heard in London this month end where a team of Indian investigators will remain present.
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