Close X
Friday, January 10, 2025
ADVT 
International

Vijay Mallya Can’t Be Declared Fugitive, Was Arrested In UK, Says Counsel

Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Nov, 2018 08:11 PM
    Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya left the country in "normal course" and not under suspicious circumstances as claimed by investigating agencies, his lawyer told a Mumbai court on Thursday.
     
     
    A special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases is hearing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea to declare Vijay Mallya a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.
     
     
    Arguing before judge M S Azmi, Mr Mallya's lawyer Amit Desai said his client is a non-resident Indian (NRI) with a permanent address in London and he had substantial business overseas as well as in India.
     
     
    Vijay Mallya is accused by the ED of defaulting on bank loans to the tune of Rs. 9,000 crore. He is also accused of diverting some of the loan amount.
     
     
    Advocate Desai, while opposing the ED plea, said that Mr Mallya had cooperated with the Debts Recovery Tribunal in its proceedings in relation to the loans given to his firms.
     
     
    He left the country for London on March 2, 2016 via Germany, where he attended a conference of World Motorsports as a director, Mr Desai said. Vijay Mallya was then one of the owners Force India, a Formula One team, he added.
     
     
    The investigating agencies had claimed that he left the county under suspicious circumstances.
     
     
    Mr Desai, however, argued that "Mallya left the country in normal course and before any case was registered against him."
     
     
    Further, FEO Act is a draconian law as it permits confiscation of a person's property even before the trial starts, he said.
     
     
    "As per the criminal procedure, property is confiscated only after the accused is held guilty. Under this law, the question of confiscation of property comes even before the first witness is examined," he said.
     
     
    ED counsel DP Singh rebutted Vijay Mallya's defence that he cannot return to India because of the conditions of the bail granted by a court in the United Kingdom which restrain him from leaving the country.
     
     
    Mr Mallya can give an undertaking before the UK court that he wants to return to India, Mr Singh said.
     
     
    The arguments will continue today.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indian Man In Singapore Faces Jail, Caning For Extortion From Bank

    Indian Man In Singapore Faces Jail, Caning For Extortion From Bank
    A 35-year-old Indian national, who tried to extort half-a-million Singapore dollars from Standard Chartered Bank here, was charged in court here.

    Indian Man In Singapore Faces Jail, Caning For Extortion From Bank

    For Talks With India, Pakistan Seeks US Help. Gets Rejected Again

    For Talks With India, Pakistan Seeks US Help. Gets Rejected Again
    Pakistan's foreign minister was quick to evade India's reasons behind cancelling of the meeting in New York. India had highlighted how Pakistan glorified terrorists by issuing postal stamps.

    For Talks With India, Pakistan Seeks US Help. Gets Rejected Again

    1 Arrested In Connection With Moga Parcel Bomb Blast

    1 Arrested In Connection With Moga Parcel Bomb Blast
    The owner of the courier shop, Vikas Sood, and a customer were injured in the blast which took place on September 26.

    1 Arrested In Connection With Moga Parcel Bomb Blast

    Weak Rupee To Attract NRI Investments Into Indian Real Estate: Realty Players

    Weak Rupee To Attract NRI Investments Into Indian Real Estate: Realty Players
    With the Indian rupee under pressure for the past few months and declining to its lowest-ever levels, real estate players expect non-resident Indian, or NRI, investments in the sector to gain momentum.

    Weak Rupee To Attract NRI Investments Into Indian Real Estate: Realty Players

    Indian Expat Who Dh 7M Abu Dhabi Jackpot To Fund Friend's Kidney Treatment

    Indian Expat Who Dh 7M Abu Dhabi Jackpot To Fund Friend's Kidney Treatment
    An Indian expatriate has hit a jackpot by winning 7 million dirhams in an Abu Dhabi raffle draw.

    Indian Expat Who Dh 7M Abu Dhabi Jackpot To Fund Friend's Kidney Treatment

    US Plans To Honour Mahatma Gandhi With Country's Highest Civilian Honour

    US Plans To Honour Mahatma Gandhi With Country's Highest Civilian Honour
    Mahatma Gandhi's legacy inspired civil rights movements around the globe, from Martin Luther King's movement for racial equality to Nelson Mandela's fight against apartheid, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said.  

    US Plans To Honour Mahatma Gandhi With Country's Highest Civilian Honour