British govt certifies India's request for extradition of Mallya

New Delhi: The British government has accepted India's appeal for extradition of Indian loan defaulter Vijay Mallya, and a UK court is in view of issuing a warrant for the same, revealed the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday.

MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, in a media briefing, said, "In February 2017, the home office of the UK government conveyed that India's request for extradition of Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya has been certified by the secretary of state."

He further said that the UK Home office had moved the appeal to Westminster Magistrate’s court in a bid to ensure a formal warrant against Mallya.

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Earlier in February this year, the Indian government had conveyed a formal request for the deportation of the fugitive industrialist to the UK High Commission, claiming that it had a lawful case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.

It is to be recalled, Mallya fled to Britain in March 2016 after he was pursued in courts by various banks seeking recovery of Rs 9,000 crore borrowed by his grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

Despite a number of summons, he never appeared before investigators of the Enforcement Directorate in involvement with a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Earlier in January, a CBI court had launched a non-bailable warrant against Vijay Mallya in the Rs 720 crore IDBI bank loan default case.