- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Eastern Eye Staff
VIJAY MALLYA has filed an application seeking leave to appeal in the UK Supreme Court, nearly two weeks after the embattled liquor baron lost his London High Court appeal against his extradition to India.
He is wanted in India for charges of fraud and money laundering related to unrecovered loans to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
The 64-year-old businessman had 14 days to file this application to seek permission to move the higher court on the High Court judgment from April 20, which dismissed his appeal against a Westminster Magistrates’ Court extradition order certified by the home secretary.
“The leave to appeal has been filed. We have until May 14 to respond,” said a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which represents the Indian authorities in the legal process of the extradition.
The leave to appeal to the Supreme Court is on a point of law of general public importance which, according to experts, is a very high threshold that is not often met.
The Home Office would will now have to wait for the appeal’s outcome before finalising his extradition to India.
The 64-year-old, whose business interests have ranged from aviation to liquor, is wanted in India over Rs 9,000 crore (£1.145bn) in loans Kingfisher took from banks which the authorities argue he had no intention of repaying. Mallya denies the charges against him and is currently on bail.
He had fled to the UK in 2016.
A two-strong bench at the UK court had last month ruled that there were prima facie cases of misrepresentation, conspiracy and money laundering.
