Enforcement Directorate files chargesheet against Vijay Mallya in Rs 900 crore IDBI Bank default case

Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against liquor baron Vijay Mallya today in the Rs 900-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier hinted that it would able to file the chargesheet against Vijay Mallya under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by early June.
The investigating agency believes that the chargesheet will make the Mallya case a “very strong one” before the London Court.

The chargesheet is expected to include case details, investigation report, statement copies of officials connected to Kingfisher Airlines, IDBI Bank and UB group, money trails of Vijay Mallya and annexure of evidences.

As per the rules for extradition, an agency has to file a chargesheet first and then notify the counterpart country to send back the fugitive, which is a time-consuming process.

Mallya, who owes as much as Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of Indian banks, fled to Britain in March last year. India is seeking his extradition for which the procedure has already begun and a team of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is chalking out the process.

The CBI had earlier filed a 2,000 page-chargesheet against eleven accused including Vijay Mallya. The chargesheet filed by both the agencies–ED and CBI–would support India’s request to the UK for Mallya’s extradition.

Vijay Mallya appeared before a Westminster magistrate court on Tuesday and claimed that he has not diverted any of the borrowed money to the team he owned in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He asked reporters to “keep dreaming about the billions of pounds” that he allegedly diverted.

This was the first hearing before a magistrate in what is called “management” proceedings before the actual trial begins.