No evidence to justify Vijay Mallya's extradition, UK court hears

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - The Indian government has failed to provide any substantial evidence to justify extraditing tycoon Vijay Mallya from Britain to face fraud charges, his lawyer told a London court on Wednesday.

India wants to extradite 62-year-old Indian businessman from Britain to face criminal action relating to loans taken out by his defunct Kingfisher Airlines and Indian authorities want to recover about $1.4 billion they say Kingfisher owes.

In her closing submission, Mallya's lawyer Clare Montgomery told London's Westminster Magistrates Court that India had failed to provide enough evidence to form a "prima facie" case against him necessary to warrant his extradition.

"It's undermined and set to nought by their own evidence," she said.

The Indian government says Kingfisher took out a series of loans from Indian banks, in particular the state-owned IDBI, with the aim of palming off huge losses which Mallya knew the failing airline was going to sustain.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)