A Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) court here on Tuesday declared Vijay Mallya a “proclaimed offender”, in a development that would help the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to mount pressure on the debt-trapped industrialist to join its investigations in the IDBI loan fraud-cum-money laundering case.
Having heard a petition filed by the ED on Friday, Special Judge PR Bhavke ruled: “The ED application is allowed and proclamation is issued against Vijay Mallya”.
The court declared Mallya a “proclaimed offender” under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which makes it mandatory on the offender to appear before the ED within 30 days of the publication of proclamation.
The Section 82 of CrPC reads thus: “If any Court has reason to believe (whether after taking evidence or not) that any person against whom a warrant has been issued by it has absconded or is concealing himself so that such warrant cannot be executed. Such Court may publish a written proclamation requiring him to appear at a specified place and at a specified time not less than thirty days from the date of publishing such proclamation”.
However, if Mallya fails to comply with the proceedings launched under section 82 of Cr.PC, the ED has kept its open of invoking section 83 of Cr.PC to seek an order from the PMlA court to any property, both movable and immovable, belonging to him.
Seeking an order declaring Mallya as a “proclaimed offender” under Section 82 of the Cr PC, the ED had on Friday informed the PMlA court that “multiple” arrest warrants were pending against him — including a non—bailable warrant (NBW) under the PMlA.
In its plea seeking to declare Mallya as “proclaimed offender” in the IDBI loan fraud case, the ED had also briefed the PMlA court of the status of the investigations in the case and the need for the accused businessman to join the probe. It also told the court that arrest warrants pending against the debt-trapped businessman included a cheque bounce and the money laundering cases.
The declaration of Mallya being a “proclaimed offenders” within three days after the ED attached United Breweries Holding ltd (UBHl) and Mallya assets worth Rs 1,411 crore in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Coorg and Chennai, in connection with its money laundering case.
The ED has been after Mallya to join its investigations in the IDBI loan fraud-cum-money laundering case. In a first step toward towards putting pressure on Mallya – who is believed to be based in the United Kingdom – to return to India for the ongoing investigations against him, the Union government had on April 15 suspended his diplomatic passport.
After he failed to appear before its investigators despite three summons having been issued against him on March 10, March 18 and April 2, the ED moved the PMlA and obtained a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Mallya on April 18.
Subsequently on May 12, the ED requested the Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice against the fugitive liquor baron.
Given that Britain has declined to deport Mallya to India, the ED is planning to invoke the India-United Kingdom Mutual legal Assistance Treaty (MlAT) to extradite Mallya from Britain.
The ED is investigating the overall financial structure of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and is also looking into any payment of kickbacks to secure 950 crore loan from the IDBI Bank.
The ED’s contention is that the latter had “siphoned off” Rs 430 crore from the loan taken by now defunct-Kingfisher Airline to purchase properties abroad.
The ED is looking into the “proceeds of crime” that would have been generated using the slush funds of the alleged loan fraud. The agency is also investigating if some of this amount was sent abroad illegally. It is also looking for details of overseas and domestic assets of Mallya and his company officials, in coordination with central security agencies and the CBI.
The ED had in the past also written to the 17-bank consortium, led by SBI, which lent money to the grounded airlines, and later went to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) for recovery of these dues. It has also made official requests to the Income Tax and Service Tax departments and the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) seeking details of their investigations against the now-defunct Kingfisher Airline in the past.