India has approached Interpol for issuance of a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in connection with a pending money laundering case here being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The move comes swiftly in the backdrop of Britain recently declining India’s request to deport the businessman from there.
The CBI has forwarded a request from the ED to the Interpol to issue RCN against the beleaguered businessman to compel him join the investigation here.
The CBI acts as the nodal office for execution of Interpol warrants in India.
An RCN is issued “to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extraditing or similar lawful action” in a criminal case probe.
Once the notice is issued by the global police body, the Interpol seeks to arrest the person concerned in any part of the world and notifies that country to take his or her custody for further action.
The ED has been seeking to make Mallya join investigation “in person” in the over
Rs900 crore IDBI loan fraud case in which it had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) earlier this year.
It has almost exhausted all legal options to make Mallya join the probe including issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him by a Mumbai court based on which it made the request for revocation of his passport and subsequently sought his deportation.
However, Britain has made it clear that Mallya cannot be deported and asked India to seek his extradition instead.
The British Government said it acknowledges “the seriousness of allegations” against Mallya and was “keen to assist” the Indian Government in this case.
ED is also mulling attaching domestic assets and shares worth about Rs9,000 crore owned by Mallya in this case.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs will take the next step with regard to extradition of businessman Vijay Mallya on the basis of advice from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Government is preparing a legal case to bring him to India after United Kingdom refused to deport him citing its Immigration laws. However, UK has conveyed India that other legal remedies, including extradition request, are still available to India and london will assist on that.
Giving details of the response of the British Government MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, the UK has conveyed that as per its law it cannot deport Mallya but crown prosecution services would be ready to discuss the key issues to consider (request for extradition) with the Indian High Commission. “Now we await the advice of Enforcement Directorate on the next steps,” Swarup said.
India had on April 28 asked the UK authorities to deport Mallya, whose Indian passport was revoked in a bid to secure his presence for taking forward the investigation against him under the Prevention of Money laundering Act 2002. The UK, in its response on May 5 to India’s request for the deportation of Mallya, had said that under the 1971 Immigration Act, the UK does not require an individual to hold a valid passport in order to remain in that country if they have extant leave to remain as long as their passport was valid when leave to remain or enter the UK was conferred.
“At the same time the UK acknowledges the seriousness of the allegations and is keen to assist the Government of India. They have asked GoI to consider requesting mutual legal assistance or extradition,” it had conveyed to the Indian Government.