Vijay Mallya arrested, freed

Wednesday 19th April 2017 05:54 EDT
 
 

Absconding Indian businessman and loan defaulter Vijay Mallya was arrested in London on Tuesday, by the Scotland Yard, only to be let off on bail within three hours. British authorities had informed that the former liquor baron will be produced before the Westminster Magistrates' Court later in the day, and that India's Central Bureau of Investigation was notified of the arrest.

Sources close to the tycoon asserted that it was a voluntary arrest. They revealed that he was granted conditional bail pending a deposit of 650,000 pounds. Confirming the arrest, the Scotland Yard released a statement saying, “Vijay Mallya was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.” The development seemed to have hardly scrapped Mallya as he tweeted, “Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected.”

Accused of defaulting on loans worth over £900 million, Mallya's arrest, as brief as it was, has been seen as a major political win and a boost to India-UK relations. By the time news of the Kingfisher Airline owner's arrest began to catch speed, he had already managed to secure a bail. Media reports suggest that Mallya will next appear before the London Court on May 17 and that the judiciary will decide on the merits of India's request for extradition. It has become abundantly clear that Mallya will fight against the extradition.

While Mallya's arrest can certainly be pegged as an achievement for the Modi government, the entire legal process is long-drawn. The controversial tycoon has time and again proved himself to be difficult to catch, despite the unrelenting pressure mounted by the Indian administration.

Rocky road ahead

Mallya is certainly not the first high-profile 'wanted' Indian to live in the UK. One has to take into considerations cases including Lalit Modi, Ravi Sankaran, Nadeem Saifi, and Tiger Hanif. The only process that pulled through was of Samirbhai Patel who was wanted for the 2002 Gujarat riots. The result, also, was only possible because Patel did not oppose his extradition, instead choosing to give his 'consent'. He was arrested on August 9, 2016, and his extradition order was signed by home secretary Amber Rudd on September 22.

A treaty was signed between India and the UK, in 1992, which came into effect in 1993. India is included in Type B of the Category 2 list of countries in Britain's Extradition Act of 2003. Article 5 of the treaty specifically cites that the extradition may be refused if the offence is of a political character. There is also the factor that British courts may consider whether violations of the person's human rights, in case he or she is returned to their country. For years, the country has acted as an asylum to people fleeing "political and religious persecution", however, there are several who also seek “refuge” to escape financial allegations. The process for Mallya's extradition is long, and include several options for appeal.

Mallya for the past one year, has openly challenged the lenders, putting up a face of determination in public. He has remained extremely defiant and blamed the Indian government, security agencies, and bankers for targeting him.

India preps to bring Mallya back

Following the one “successful” move in the year-long default case, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying, “His (Mallya) arrest in London today was in connection with request by the GoI to UK authorities for his extradition. Legal process in this regard is underway in the UK. The two governments are in touch in this context.”

Former CBI director Anil Sinha termed the arrest as a “success” of law enforcement agencies, adding that efforts to bring him back would “fructify”. He said the arrest also signifies the strong resolve of law enforcement agencies and the governments. Advocate Abad Ponda, who represents bankers arrested in the IDBI Bank loan case, said that while initiation of the extradition process showed “good intent”, a lot rides on the efforts made by Indian authorities.

“While the intent is good, extradition is a long, tardy, cumbersome process. It all depends on how much effort the Indian authorities have made for a strong case for his extradition. His extradition is crucial to take the CBI investigation to its logical conclusion,” he said. Managing Partner at Advaya Legal, Ramesh Vaidyanathan said the timeline to take the extradition process to a logical conclusion could be anything between 18 months and 24 months. “It all depends on whether the court feels that a conviction is possible. The first level will include a full hearing before the district court that may happen sometime next month, then hearing before the high court and the Supreme Court.”


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