The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized property of businessman Vijay Mallya worth 1.6 million euros (Rs.14 crore) .
On the ED’s request, Vijay Mallya’s 32 Avenue France property was confiscated by the French Authority under the Anti Money Laundering Act. Investigations have revealed that a large amount was withdrawn from the bank account of Kingfisher Airlines Limited abroad.
Vijay Mallya liquor businessman and owner of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. is absconding from India. In January 2019,Vijay Mallya was declared a ‘fugitive criminal’ by the court under the Money-Laundering Act (PMLA). Mallya currently accused in a bank loan fraud case of over nine thousand crore rupees and is currently in UK.
Few months ago India had urged the United Kingdom (UK) government not to grant asylum if requested by Vijay Mallya. Britain said there was “another legal issue” that needed to be resolved before Vijay Mallya’s extradition could be arranged. Currently, Britain and India are trying to resolve the matter soon. The Indian government has said that it is in touch with the British government for the early extradition of Vijay Mallya.
Recently, the Supreme Court rejected Mallya’s petition against the closure of United Breweries Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. Mallya’s company challenged the Karnataka High Court’s order to wind down UHBL to recover the dues of Kingfisher Airlines. The SBI-led consortium has adopted a path to recover debt by selling assets of UBHL.
