ED team in London to submit Mallya's chargesheet

A team of Enforcement Directorate is in London to submit the chargesheet against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in a step to seek his extradition, an official said on Wednesday.

The ED move is part of its ongoing probe against Mallya for defaulting on over Rs 8,000 crore bank loans.

The two-member ED team, including a legal advisor, left for London on Monday for a two-day visit and was expected to return by Thursday, the ED official said.

The official said the ED team has reached London to submit a 5,500-page chargesheet and some documents against Vijay Mallya before the Crown Prosecution Office, which is fighting the case of Mallya's extradition.

He added that the legal advisor accompanying a Joint Director-level ED official will assist the agency to strategise legal steps to deal with the British arbitrators in London.

The ED officials said the chargesheet has details on the money trail, how Mallya diverted funds from Rs 900 crore loan received from IDBI Bank to group entities in India and several other countries via numerous shell companies.

The ED team is accompanied by the officials of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is also probing the IDBI loan default case.

Mallya fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued for recovery of Rs 8,191 crore owed to a consortium of 17 Indian banks by his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. He was arrested and granted bail in London on April 18 by the Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant.

The Indian government had in February this year, handed over to British authorities a formal request for Mallya's extradition, saying it had a legitimate case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.

Meanwhile, the ED official said the agency will be writing to six countries to get information on financial dealings of Mallya to probe the alleged illegal laundering of over Rs 1,300 crore he had made through 13 shell companies in the US, Ireland, Mauritius and France.

--IANS

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