A big drama unfolded in London on Tuesday when business tycoon Vijay Mallya was arrested and later let out on bail by the Westminster court in London. He was arrested earlier in the day by the Scotland Yard police. He is wanted in India for defaulting on loans worth Rs 9,000 crore. Mallya has been arrested under the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) treaty.
The arrest is being seen as a step close to his extradition. A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to visit the United Kingdom soon.
Mallya had submitted before the court on September 9 his desire to come back to India. However, he was “incapacitated” to travel despite “best intentions” as his passport had been revoked. Mallya is facing charges of money laundering and faces several arrest warrants. He had been declared a wilful defaulter by some banks in the United Kingdom since March last year.
India had applied to Britain to extradite Mallya to face trial over a loan to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had during his visit to UK in February said that India was no longer willing to let defaulters escape the law. “Many thought that when you take loan from the banks, the money need not be re-paid and you can come to London and stay out here…and democracy is liberal enough to permit defaulters to stay here. That normal needs to be cracked,” he had said.
Since 1993, India and the UK have an extradition treat but which only one extradition from the UK to India had taken place ever since then. In 2016, Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel had been extradited to stand trial for his alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
Here’s how much he owes to the following banks:
State Bank of India: Recovered only Rs 155 crore out of Rs Rs 1,623 crore lent to him
Punjab National Bank: Rs 1,500 crore
IDBI Bank: Rs 800 crore
Bank of India: Rs 650 crore
Central Bank of India: Rs 410 crore
UCO Bank: Rs 320 crore
Corporation Bank: Rs 310 crore
State Bank of Mysore: Rs 150 crore
Indian Overseas Bank: Rs 140 crore
Federal Bank: Rs 90 crore
Punjab & Sind Bank: Rs 60 crore
Axis Bank: Rs 50 crore
