NEW DELHI : India will now have to initiate extradition process after a charge sheet is filed to bring back embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya to face money laundering charges as well as recovery of the Rs 9,400 crore of loans to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.
He told Rajya Sabha that as per the information available with him, the United Kingdom has said deportation is not possible when a person enters Britain with a valid passport and the passport is cancelled subsequently.
Government had cancelled Mallya’s passport weeks after he flew first-class to London on March 2. Public sector banks had also knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court to recover the loans.
Mallya had a diplomatic passport by virtue of being a Rajya Sabha member. He resigned from the Upper House this month.
Cancellation of passport “does not result in automatic deportation, that is the stand taken by UK,” Jaitley said.
India will have to demand extradition after charge sheet is filed, he said.
The Finance Minister said public sector banks are making all efforts to recover the loans and investigating agencies are inquiring into violations of law.
The loans were extended to Kingfisher Airlines on personal guarantees extended by Mallya, who owns a flourishing liquor and other businesses.
Earlier, Sharad Yadav (JDU) raised the issue citing media reports that said the UK had told India that no case was made and Mallya cannot be deported.
“You (government) allowed him to travel out in style. Government slept when he fled the country,” he said.
The government, he said, had claimed that it will leave no stone unturned to get Mallya back at all cost. He wanted to know what steps the government will take now. (AGENCIES)
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