Vijay Mallya extradition trial: London court extends bail to troubled liquor baron who is 'ready to settle dues'

A London court has extended bail to embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya on Tuesday, who is facing extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore. The next hearing in the extradition case is on 12 September.

After being granted bail in the case, Mallya told reporters that he has not applied for clemency and that he is ready to settle his dues.

He also said that his assets can't be attached for the complaints filed by the banks. Full sum is to be determined. Assets can’t be attached for the complaints filed by banks. They can’t be sold. Let judiciary decide what’s right: Vijay Mallya after being granted bail by London's Westminster Magistrates Court in the extradition case.

Meanwhile, the court has asked Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of a cell at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where India plans to keep Vijay Mallya post-extradition Both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition. After hearing the arguments, Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of the Barrack 12 of the Arthur Road Jail. 

Earlier in the day, Mallya emphatically denied the money laundering charges against him. He said that he had informed the Karnataka high court to sell his assets worth Rs 14,000 crore.  "Today is the date the judge has set for the closing arguments. I have made a comprehensive settlement with the Karnataka court. There are over Rs 14,000 crore assets placed before the court. I have requested the court to sell these assets under judicial supervision. Pay all the banks, creditors so that everyone is happy. Questions about stealing money or money laundering are all completely false," he told the media waiting outside the court.  "At the end of the day, the courts will decide," Mallya tells reporters outside the court.

At the last hearing in the case on 27 April, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had received a boost in the case as Judge Arbuthnot confirmed that the bulk of the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities will be admissible in the case.

The CBI had submitted a detailed set of documents to the UK court, which includes its case of conspiracy against former IDBI Bank Deputy Managing Director BK Batra, who was referred to in court as a new "villain" of sorts in the case.

As per the Indian authorities' case of conspiracy, Batra reportedly colluded with Mallya in sanctioning some of the loans to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines without following due diligence procedures.

Vijay Mallya at London's Westminster court. PTI

In the separate extradition proceedings, if the judge rules in favour of the Indian government, the UK home secretary will have two months to sign Mallya's extradition order. However, both sides will have the chance to appeal in higher courts in the UK against the Magistrates' Court verdict.

Mallya's defence team, headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, has disputed the fraud allegations and also submitted further written material from UK-based prisons expert Dr Alan Mitchell, challenging some of the photographs of Barrack 12 of Mumbai Central Prison on Arthur Road, where Mallya is to be held if he is extradited from the UK.

The CPS team, led by barrister Mark Summers, dismissed the additional material as an "attempt to criticise" the information provided by the Indian authorities.

The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya, who has been based in the UK since he left India in March 2016. It also seeks to prove there are no "bars to extradition" and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crores in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.

The CPS has argued that the evidence they have presented establishes "dishonesty" on the part of the businessman and that there are no bars to him being extradited from the UK to face Indian courts.

Mallya's defence team has deposed a series of expert witnesses to claim he had no "fraudulent" intentions and that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India.

Last month, after a prolonged period of silence, Mallya had issued a lengthy media statement, labelling the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) charges against him as “untenable and blatantly false".

He has since lost his appeal in the UK's Court of Appeal against a High Court order in favour of 13 Indian banks to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.

The High Court order in favour of the State Bank of India (SBI) led consortium had reinforced a worldwide freezing order against Mallya's assets.

It was followed by a related enforcement order last month granting permission to the UK High Court Enforcement Officer to enter Mallya's properties in Hertfordshire, near London, where he is based.

Mallya has since said that he has handed over a full statement of his UK assets to the court and there was no question of use of force to enter his home, Ladywalk, in the village of Tewin in England.

-- With PTI inputs