Mumbai: One more trouble for the beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya is ready because, on Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate(ED) said that it had approached the special PMLA court in Mumbai seeking to declare Mallya an absconder and attach his properties as he did not comply with a proclamation order issued against him.
An ED Official said that we have moved the court to declare Mallya an absconder and attach his properties.
The special court for the cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Mumbai had declared beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya – who left the country in the month of March 2016 – a proclaimed offender in June.
The person has to appear before the court within a stipulated period after such an order is issued, but Vijay Mallya did not do that, so the Enforcement Directorate moved the court again for getting him declared an absconder.
The ED had sought an order from the court under CrPC Section 82 (proclamation of absconding person) to term the liquor baron Vijay Mallya – a proclaimed offender as several arrest warrants were pending against him. The warrants were related to the cases including those under PMLA, and also for check-bouncing.
A person, against whom a warrant has been issued, can be declared a proclaimed offender if the court believes that he or she has absconded or is evading execution of warrant.
Enforcement Directorate wanted Liquor baron Mr Mallya to join the investigation in connection with its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and cases related to a Rs. 900 crore loan from IDBI Bank. It said that it had exhausted other legal remedies like seeking Interpol arrest warrant and getting his passport revoked.
The ED also wanted to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to get Mr Mallya extradited from the United Kingdom.
