Extradition trial: Vijay Mallya has ‘case of fraud’ to answer, Indian govt tells UK court
The extradition trial of Vijay Mallya, wanted in India on charges of Rs 9,000 crores fraud and money laundering, today began at a UK court here, with the prosecution asserting that the embattled liquor baron had a “case of fraud” to answer.
The trial, however, was briefly halted as the courtroom had to be evacuated due to a fire alarm. The 61-year-old tycoon and others waited outside the Westminster magistrates court during the fire drill. The trial began with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, presenting its opening arguments in the case which focussed on loans totalling around Rs 2,000 crores sought by the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines from a consortium of Indian banks.
The CPS admitted that there may have been “irregularities” in the internal processes of the banks sanctioning some of those loans but that would be a question to be dealt with at a later stage in India. “The focus of our case will be on his (Mallya’s) conduct and how he misled the bank and misused the proceeds,” said CPS barrister Mark Summers. He then went on to lay out a detailed chronology of events, with specific focus on a loan sought …read more