UK court approves the extradition of fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya to India. A look at the chronology of events
Vijay Mallya extradition
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's extradition to India has been approved by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Monday. The Westminster Magistrates' Court in London had ordered 63-year-old Mallya's extradition to India on December 10, 2018. Vijay Mallya now has 14 days starting from February 4 to appeal against the extradition.
Mallya is wanted in India for alleged fraud and money laundering charges which amount to Rs 9000 crore. He fled India and moved to the UK in 2016 and is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017 after the Indian authorities brought fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores against the former Kingfisher Airlines boss.
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A special court in Mumbai on January 5, 2019, declared Vijay Mallya a fugitive economic offender (FEO) on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate. Mallya became the first businessman to be declared EFO under the provisions of the new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act which came into existence in August last year.
Here's a quick timeline of the Vijay Mallya case so far:
May 9, 2005:
United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) Chairman Vijay Mallya's luxury airline - Kingfisher Airlines - starts commercial operations.
2013:
Several banks led by State Bank of India approached United Breweries Holdings Ltd for payback of loan amounting to Rs 6,493 crore on behalf of Kingfisher Airlines.
March 3, 2016:
Vijay Mallya fled India and took refuge in London
February 2017:
India sent an extradition request to the UK
April 18, 2017:
Mallya surrenders at a central London police station. Scotland Yard arrested him on an extradition warrant.
June 13, 2017:
The first hearing took place at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. His bail term got extended till December 2017 post which the extradition trial would start.
July 6, 2017:
Mallya appeared for a hearing in the case despite getting an exemption from appearance in court.
September 14, 2017:
Another case management hearing took place when Mallya's defence team informed the court of plans to depose six experts they intend to rely upon in their evidence.
October 3, 2017:
CBI and Enforcement Directorate(ED) are clubbed together for the extradition trial. Mallya is re-arrested in a money laundering case filed by ED and is released on bail conditions.
November 20, 2017:
A pre-trial hearing takes note of additional "supplemental" charges of money laundering to the previous charges of fraud, amounting to an estimated Rs 9,000 crores.
December 4, 2017:
Vijay Mallya's extradition trial started on this day.
December 5, 2017:
Vijay Mallya's defence team laid out its counter-arguments and claimed that there was no evidence to support the "nonsensical" case of fraud against their client.
December 7, 2017:
The hearing resumed and Mallya's defence claimed that he would pay back nearly 80 per cent of the principal loan amount which he owed to the Indian banks. However, this was rejected by the court.
December 11, 2017:
Mallya's defence continued to depose its experts and tried to establish that the case against him was "politically motivated".
December 12, 2017:
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took Mallya's defence team's political expert to a task, and claimed that he had relied on flawed material to discredit Indian investigation agencies like the CBI and ED in his testimony.
December 13, 2017:
The defence sought to discredit the suitability of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where Mallya was to be held on extradition, through the witness statements of UK-based prison service expert Dr Alan Mitchell and dismiss his claims.
December 14, 2017:
Both sides conclude the evidence stage of the trial. The case was moved into 2018 to complete all procedures.
January 11, 2018:
The hearing returns for the judge to hear arguments for and against the admissibility of certain evidence in the case.
January 11, 2018:
The hearing returns for the judge to hear arguments for and against the admissibility of certain evidence in the case.
March 16, 2018:
The judge notes that it was "blindingly obvious" to her that rules were broken by Indian banks, which sanctioned some of the loans to the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines as the case returned for hearing.
April 27, 2018:
The judge confirmed that the bulk of the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities in the extradition case will be deemed admissible, thus giving a major boost to the CBI.
July 31, 2018:
The court asked the Indian authorities to submit a video of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai to allay all doubts over its suitability as the case edged towards a conclusion.
September 12, 2018:
At the final hearing in the case, Mallya told media outside the court that he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before he left India in March 2016. Jaitley instantly issues a statement to dismiss the comments as 'factually incorrect'.
December 10, 2018:
Westminster Magistrates' Court judge ordered the extradition of Mallya. The UK Home Secretary will have to sign Mallya's extradition order within two months. However, Mallya's defence team had a chance to appeal in higher courts in the UK against the verdict.
January 5, 2019:
A special court in Mumbai on January 5, declares Vijay Mallya a fugitive economic offender (FEO) on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate.
February 4, 2019:
UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid orders Mallya's extradition to India. Arun Jaitley took to Twitter to praise the Modi government. He tweeted, Modi Government clears one more step to get Mallya extradited while Opposition rallies around the Saradha scamsters."
Modi Government clears one more step to get Mallya extradited while Opposition rallies around the Saradha Scamsters.
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) February 4, 2019
(with inputs from PTI)
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