ED yet to ask foreign ministry for extradition of Mallya, Modi, says Swaraj

Absolves high commissioner for being at a book launch that Mallya attended

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday put the delay by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in sending to the United Kingdom requests for extraditing industrialist Vijay Mallya and former Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi on the doorstep of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED is a financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue of the Finance Ministry. It enforces the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

At a press conference on Sunday, Swaraj pointedly said the letter requesting Lalit Modi’s extradition to India from the UK hasn’t been sent to the authorities there. She said the ED was yet to send any request to the MEA to demand his extradition.

Lalit Modi is believed to be living in the UK. Swaraj said while the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government kept talking of his deportation, the Narendra Modi government wanted to get him extradited.

Compared to deportation, extradition is more time consuming but an effective process. Last year, Swaraj had found herself at the centre of a controversy for ostensibly helping Lalit Modi get travel documents that enabled him to visit his ailing wife in Portugal.

As for Mallya’s extradition request, Swaraj said the MEA had sought changes in the initial documents sent by the ED for Mallya’s extradition from the UK, but the ministry was awaiting the amended version. Mallya is a proclaimed offender in a money laundering case.

Swaraj also absolved India’s High Commissioner to UK of all blame in attending a book launch where Mallya was in the audience.

“The High Commissioner is not at fault,” she said. Swaraj said two kinds of invites were sent for the book launch in London – one by event organisers London School of Economics (LSE) and the other by the High Commission.

She said the LSE’s was an open invite aimed at filling the large hall that can seat nearly 400 people.

With students on vacation, the organisers sent an open invite as they anticipated difficulty in filling the hall.  The second invite was from the High Commission for the reception, which wasn’t sent to Mallya.

She said the High Commissioner, Navtej Sarna, left the dais as soon as he saw Mallya in the audience. “Why is there an unnecessary controversy being made over this,” she said.