Vijay Mallya declared proclaimed offender

A PMLA court clears Enforcement Directorate's move in connection with money laundering charge

The special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday declared industrialist Vijay Mallya a proclaimed offender under Section 82 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).

A person against whom arrest warrant has been issued can be declared a ‘proclaimed offender’ if the court has reasons to believe that he/she is absconding or is in hiding, blocking execution of the warrant.

The move comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved the court here, seeking tag for Mallya in connection with the money laundering probe against him.

“This would strengthen our case for Mallya’s extradition from the UK. It will also help in seizing domestic properties belonging to him,” an ED official said.

THE TAG BY ED

• ED had moved the court to issue an order under Section 82 CrPC
   
• It termed the liquor baron a proclaimed offender as he had “multiple” arrest warrants pending against him
   
• He is also wanted in a money laundering case, according to ED
   
• Section 82 of the CrPC says the court can publish a written proclamation requiring such an accused to appear at a specified place and at a specified time in not less than 30 days
   
• ED said there were multiple arrest warrants pending against him in various cases like that of cheque bounce

With the offender tag, Mallya is required to appear at a specified place and time within 30 days. During the hearing, ED counsel Hiten Venegaonkar said Mallya was giving statements to the media, which means he was aware of the warrant against him.

The counsel cited reasons like searches made by the agency at his UB group offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Mallya has ‘multiple’ arrest warrants pending against him, including a non-bailable warrant (NBW) under PMLA.

The probe agency is investigating alleged money laundering of Rs 950 crore, raised by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines from IDBI Bank.

It is suspected that of the total loan amount, Rs 423 crore was remitted out of India.

Last Saturday, the ED attached United Breweries Holdings (UBHL) and Mallya assets worth Rs 1,411 crore in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Coorg and Chennai. Mallya, reportedly in the UK, owes Rs 6,963 crore to a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, for loans taken to run Kingfisher.

The banks say Mallya had given personal guarantees, apart from pledging his stake in UB Group companies, to raise funds for the airline. This resulted in Mallya losing control over his liquor empire to global players — Diageo in spirits and Heineken in beverages.

Meanwhile, ED had on May 12 requested the Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice against Mallya.