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London, February 4
In a major setback to fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the UK Home Secretary has given the green signal to his extradition. On December 10, 2018, a UK court ruled Mallya guilty and ordered his deportation to India. Now, the UK Home Office has upheld the lower court ruling.
“On February 3, the Secretary of State, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed the order for Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India. Mallya is accused in India of conspiracy to defraud, making false representations and money laundering offences,” a UK Home Office spokesperson said.
Mallya now has 14 days to apply for leave of appeal to the UK High Court. In a tweet, Mallya said he would initiate the appeal process.
Welcoming the extradition order, Indian government sources said, “We have taken a note of the decision of the UK Home Secretary to sign on the order for Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India. While we welcome the decision, we await the early completion of the legal process for his extradition.”
The move comes at a time when the government faces the Opposition’s wrath following the CBI raids in Kolkata against the city’s police commissioner. Taking a jibe at political opponents, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said, “The Modi government clears one more step to get Mallya extradited while the Opposition rallies around the Saradha scamsters.”
Official sources had earlier said what helped push India’s case was PM Narendra Modi taking up the issue personally with his counterpart Theresa May. — TNS
Tycoon to fugitive
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