An Indian court has declared a tycoon living in Britain a fugitive economic offender, a ruling that will allow authorities to confiscate his properties and assets.
Judge MS Azmi’s decision on Saturday comes less than a month after a court in the UK ruled that Vijay Mallya should be extradited to India to face financial fraud allegations.
Mr Mallya remains free on bail in London and can appeal against the ruling.
Respectfully to all commentators, I cannot understand how my extradition decision or the recent extradition from Dubai and my settlement offer are linked in any way. Wherever I am physically,my appeal is “Please take the money”. I want to stop the narrative that I stole money
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) December 6, 2018
Mr Mallya, who left India in 2016, is accused of money laundering and cheating Indian banks out of hundreds of millions of pounds. He has denied wrongdoing.
He was declared a fugitive economic offender under a new Indian law that applies to a person accused of financial fraud of more than one billion rupees (£11.2 million) and who has fled India in a bid to avoid prosecution.
Mr Mallya, who in 1983 became chairman of an alcohol company once led by his father, was a leading figure among India’s business elite.
He launched Kingfisher Airlines and had an ownership stake in India’s Formula One racing team.
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