India asks UK to deport embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya

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India said on Thursday it had asked Britain to deport Vijay Mallya, the liquor tycoon who flew to London last month as bankers pressed him to repay about $1.4 billion owed by his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The Ministry of External Affairs has written to the British High Commission seeking Mallya's return so that "his presence can be secured for investigations against him" under India's anti-moneylaundering law, spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters.

The liquor tycoon and Formula 1 boss has not disclosed his whereabouts since flying first class from Delhi to London on March 2, leaving the Indian government and bankers red faced as they try to crack down on high-profile defaulters.

The foreign ministry last Sunday revoked Mallya's diplomatic passport that he carried as a member of parliament's upper house. The move was a step towards launching a bid to bring home Mallya, who is the subject of a non-bailable warrant issued by a special judge in Mumbai.

The Enforcement Directorate, a government agency set up to fight financial crime, has accused Mallya's UB Group of using 4.3 billion rupees ($64.5 million) of bank loans to Kingfisher to buy property overseas.


India asks UK to deport embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya| Reuters
 
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UB Group chairman and former liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who flew to the UK last month, has said he is in “forced exile” and bankers “are not getting any money” by taking his passport or arresting him.

In a four-hour interview with the Financial Times, Mallya said he remains an Indian patriot, who is “proud to fly the Indian flag”, but as the outcry around him continues, he is more than happy to stay safe in the UK and has no plans to leave that country.

India has asked the UK government to deport embattled Mallya, wanted for questioning in a money-laundering probe and being pursued by creditors for over Rs.9,000 crore in unpaid loans.

The request was made within days of a special court issuing a non-bailable warrant for the arrest of Mallya, who flew to the UK on 2 March, as investigators and creditors to his grounded Kingfisher Airlines Ltd closed in on him.

The government last week revoked Mallya’s diplomatic passport—given to him by virtue of his status as a member of the Rajya Sabha—in an effort to bring him back to India. It suspended the passport on 15 April for four weeks on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing money-laundering allegations against him.

“We have always been in dialogue with banks, saying: ‘We wish to settle’. But we wish to settle at a reasonable number that we can afford and banks can justify on the basis of settlements done before,” Mallya told the Financial Times.

However, the business tycoon added: “By taking my passport or arresting me, they are not getting any money.”


Vijay Mallya says he is in forced exile: report - Livemint
 
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