Bombay High Court rejects Vijay Mallya's plea for stay on ED's request to declare him fugitive
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has dismissed liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s petition seeking to untag him from the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) ‘fugitive economic offender’ list, ED tweeted on Thursday.
The ED said the High Court dismissed Mallya’s appeal for a stay on proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, on the pretext that ATFE had ordered a status quo in the attachments under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case filed by the State Bank of India.
The agency that probes economic offences had sought the ‘fugitive offender’ tag for Mallya so that it has the power to confiscate his properties under the PMLA. A Special Court had earlier rejected Mallya’s plea to stay the hearing on ED’s petition till November 26, when the Appellate Tribunal for PMLA is slated to hear the plea filed by the consortium of banks to claim their dues. Mallya had moved the HC after this and now, this petition stands dismissed as well.
“We are also anxious to clear the dues and to see to it that the creditors get their dues back. We only do not want the properties to be seized by the Enforcement Directorate, which would then hamper the process of clearance of dues,” Mallya’s lawyer Amit Desai told the High Court division bench, PTI reported. Desai told the court that his pleas should not be misunderstood as a ploy to run away from the proceedings.
However, High Court dismissed Mallya’s petition saying it has been filed at a premature stage when the lower court is hearing the prosecuting agency’s request to declare him a ‘fugitive economic offender’. The bench said the lower court shall hear the petition filed by the ED on merits. India has also sought extradition of Mallya from Britain, where he has been residing since he left the country.
UBS to take liquor baron’s London home
The High Court in London on Thursday ruled in favour of Swiss banking giant UBS Investment Bank to take possession of Vijay Mallya’s Central London house, ANI reported. The judicature had issued an order asking Mallya to pay 88,000 euros to UBS, which had issued 20.4 million euros in the mortgage loan for the property.