UK orders Vijay Mallya to be extradited to India

London The extradition of Vijay Mallya accused of conspiracy to defraud banks and money laundering offenses has been approved by UK Home Secretary the British government said on Monday in a major blow to the liquor baron and boosting Indias efforts to bring back the fugitive businessmanThe 63yearold business tycoon had been found to have a case to answer before the Indian courts by Westminster Magistrates Court in London on December 10 2018 Under the Extradition Treaty procedures the Chief Magistrates verdict was sent to Home Secretary Sajid Javid because only he was authorised to order Mallyas extraditionJavid the UKs seniormost Pakistaniorigin minister had two months from that date to sign off on that order Mallya now has 14 days from February 4 to apply for leave to appeal to the UK High CourtThe Home Secretarys order rarely goes against the courts conclusions as he has to consider only some very narrow bars to extradition which are unlikely to apply in this case including the possible imposition of a death penalty in a particular caseThe UK Home Office confirmed on Monday that after considering all matters Javid had signed Mallyas extradition order on Sunday On February 3 the Secretary of State having carefully considered all relevant matters signed the order for Vijay Mallyas extradition to India a Home Office spokesperson saidVijay Mallya is accused in India of conspiracy to defraud making false representations and money laundering offences the spokesperson addedMallya 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 9000 crores against the former Kingfisher Airlines bossThe former Kingfisher Airlines boss has earlier indicated that he intends to file an application to appeal against the Westminster Magistrates Court verdict in favour of his extradition to IndiaThe businessman had told reporters soon after the ruling by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot in London in December 2018 that he would consider the verdict in detail and decide his next course of action His legal team later confirmed that he will seek leave to appeal against the court orderDr Mallya has now been able to consider the courts decision and intends to file an application for permission to appeal at the appropriate time said Anand Doobay Partner at UKbased Boutique Law LLP who has been Mallyas solicitor through the extradition processWhile Mallyas legal team had argued in the UK court that the default on the loans sought by the nowdefunct airline were the result of business failure the Crown Prosecution Service CPS had claimed fraudulent intentions by the businessman in seeking and then dispersing those loansJudge Arbuthnot in her ruling delivered on December 10 at the end of a yearlong trial concluded there is a case to answer in the Indian courts over substantial misrepresentations by the flashy billionaire of his financial dealingsThere is clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds and I find a prima facie case the Dr Mallya was involved in a conspiracy to launder money she saidThe judgment had also dismissed the defence teams attempt to challenge the case on human rights grounds by claiming that Barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where the businessman is to be detained following his extradition did not meet the requirementsThe UK court said it was satisfied with the various assurances provided by the Indian government including a video of the jail cell which had not only been recently redecorated but was also far larger than the minimum requirement thresholdI noted that he Mallya is taking a whole range of medications which the GoI government of India will ensure he has access to the judge saidMallya needs permission to appeal against this verdict within 14 days of the Home Secretarys decision and the case would then proceed to the UK High Court if the appeal is allowedThere is some limited recourse for the case to go on to a further level of the Supreme Court but that is only possible if the High Court certifies that the appeal involves a point of law of general public importance and either the High Court or the apex court gives leave for the appeal to be madeCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever