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Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot of the UK has ordered Vijay Mallya’s extradition, referring the case to the British Home Secretary to sign off the extradition order.
Mallya has 14 days to lodge an appeal following the verdict on Monday. The judge at Westminster Magistrates Court pointed to factors such as numerous misrepresentations that had been made by Kingfisher Airlines, and Mallya during the course of obtaining loans from a consortium of banks.
Expressing disappointment, Mallya said his legal team would decide on the way ahead, and also reiterated his settlement before the Karnataka High Court, insisting he had made it clear that should the offer be accepted, he wanted former Kingfisher Airlines employees to be paid first. “Do I regret being in a situation when I am reading legal papers and paying legal fees? Yes, I do. I could have done something more productive with my time. But it is what it is,” he said.
ANALYSIS : Mallya’s spirited offer to repay only principal may not fly with creditors
In a punchy summary statement after announcing her judgement, Arbuthnot described Mallya as a “glamorous, flashy, famous, bejewelled, bodyguarded, ostensibly billionaire playboy” who may have “charmed and cajoled” bankers into “losing their common sense and persuading them to put their own rules and regulations to one side.” She also rejected the defence suggestion that a “false case” was being mounted against Mallya to “assuage CBI’s political masters”. “I find that because both Congress and the BJP are blaming him and others for the state banks’ losses that does not mean he is being prosecuted for his political opinions...”
Fraud charges
The judge focussed on evidence relating to fraud and money laundering charges, including the contention that Kingfisher Airlines and Mallya had misrepresented the state of the carrier.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has two months to order the extradition, following which any appeal process would kick off. Mallya has the right to appeal to the High Court and, should that go against him, he could appeal to the Supreme Court.
Once extradition is ordered by the Home Secretary, the Crown Prosecution Service’s barrister Mark Summers — acting for India — said they would seek to recover at least £260,000 in legal costs.
ALSO READ : The many ifs and buts in the case
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