Vijay Mallya's Woes Worsen As Banks Inch Closer To Bring The Fugitive Back
While the Indian investigative authorities have already taken possession of Vijay Mallya’s assets in India, his immovable assets in the UK are not far from their clutches anymore, at least this is what the court order on Tuesday implies. As over a dozen banks manage to pull off an interim victory in the court battle against the infamous liquor baron, preventing Mallya from disposing off his assets overseas, the set of problems that Vijay Mallya now faces continue to mount.
On Tuesday, the UK high court judge Andrew Henshaw upheld the worldwide order that froze Mallya’s assets, the order that these banks had got in their persistent bid to recover nearly $1.55 billion.
While the Indian authorities, time and again, have reiterated that he is a wilful defaulter for having refused to pay while he has the financial stamina to refund the loans, he took a defence that the defaults stemmed from the financial losses incurred by the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, and there was not any malafide intention for not returning the money.
The order, which has been upheld, relates to that of the Debt Recovery Tribunal that had ordered that he owes Indian banks an amount of over Rs 6,000 crore plus interest.
Indian government, while trying to recover the money from the battered businessman, is also making concerted attempts to enforce his extradition.
That matter is still ongoing in the court of Westminster Magistrates' Court, which will now hear the matter on July 11.
In the past also, he has faced a series of unfavourable court orders, among other things. Last year in April, Scotland Yard, the territorial police force responsible for policing London, had arrested him on extradition warrant, and he was released on a bail bond of 6,50,000 pounds.
Not only this, the former king of good times was ordered by the court to survive on weekly allowance of 5,000 pounds as all his assets are frozen, an amount that was raised on January 31 this year by a UK high court order to 18,325 pounds a week.
(With PTI Inputs)