The United Kingdom authorities on Tuesday assured Indian officials to extradite Vijay Mallya. On Monday, the Home Ministry forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) a court-issued request to bring back embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom to India to face money laundering probe. In a communication to the MEA, the Home Ministry has provided it details of the Mumbai special court order which approved the Enforcement Directorate’s request to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to bring back Mallya to the country.
The UK authorities have further ensured that actions against Lalit Modi and Tiger Memon will also be taken. Absconding business tycoon Lalit Modi, who left country in 2010 with allegations of tax evasion, money-laundering and proxy ownership linked to the Indian Premier League (IPL), has refused to return to the country, citing death threats from the underworld.
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Earlier on Monday, the Home Ministry had forwarded a court-issued request to the Ministry of External Affairs to bring back Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom to India. The Home Ministry had reportedly provided all the details of the Mumbai special court order which had approved the ED’s request to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to bring back Mallya to the country.
The External Affairs Ministry had been requested to forward the communication to the authorities in the UK to extradite Mallya to India, official sources said. The Mumbai special court, which is entrusted with hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), had last fortnight approved the ED’s request to issue an order against Mallya under the India-UK treaty. The British & Indian officials (MHA/MEA) while holding consultations under MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) brought out Vijay Mallya’s extradition also on agenda. However, Geoffrey Orden, Chair, European Parliament Delegation said that the UK government can’t discuss particular cases.
