ED, CBI JOIN HANDS TO SPEED UP MALLYA’S EXTRADITION

NEWDELHI: Three days ago, when the United Kingdom authorities arrested Vijay Mallya on the request of Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency strategically clubbed its request for extradition of the fugitive liquor baron with that of the CBI’s.

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s request has already been pending there since April.

The clubbing of requests is a move to expedite the extradition of the embattled 61-year-old businessman, who has been living in the United Kingdom on a self-imposed exile since he left India in March last year.

The CBI officials felt the ED’s move will eliminate the chance of any further procedural delay in bringing him back to India.

“Both the CBI and the ED are working in close coordination for the extradition of Mallya. The ED’s charges of money laundering against Mallya will strengthen the CBI’s request for his extradition,” said a senior CBI official.

The official added the investigators from both the agencies discussed the move in detail before the ED went ahead to join the central probe agency.

The UB Group chief was arrested for the second time in the UK on Tuesday after the ED pressed money laundering charges against him.

Earlier he was arrested in April on the charges pressed by the CBI. On both occasions, Mallya was released on bail.

The extradition hearing against Mallya, in which the UK’s Crown Prosecution Agency will represent both the ED and the CBI, will begin on December 4.

The CBI probed charges of bank loan default to the tune of ₹9,000 crore against Mallya and filed a chargesheet against him.