CBI sendsVijay Mallya chargesheet to Interpol
NEW DELHI: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent to the Interpol a chargesheet it filed in the ₹900-crore loan default case involving Vijay Mallya with a hope that the international body would issue a red corner notice (RCN) against the beleaguered businessman.
An RCN is issued to seek the location and arrest of a wanted person so that the accused is extradited to the country where he/she has committed a crime.
The probe agency has been in communication with the Interpol for over a year to seek an RCN against Mallya and has recently sent the voluminous chargesheet to the international body, sources said.
According to official sources the latest communication between CBI and Interpol will not only be useful if Mallya’s extradtion is given a green signal by the UK court, but will also help to maintain some pressure on the liqour baron. Mallya was recently in news when he was spotted watching a cricket match held between India and Pakistan at Birmingham. The moves comes in midst of extradition proceedings against Mallya that were initiated by prosecutors in United Kingdom last month at the Westminster Magistrates Court in London.
“The Interpol had previously asked for certain documents in connection to the alleged bank fraud case involving Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and officials of the IDBI bank. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been coordinating with the Interpol for the issuance of an RCN since last year and the chargesheet has been sent and received by the Interpol late last month,” said an official privy to the development. CBI acts as the nodal office for execution of Interpol warrants in India.
This, however, is not the only development on the Mallya front. According to another source in ED, the directorate is likely to file its own chargesheet against Mallya sometime in this week. Sources said the chargesheet will detail the proceeds of crime allegedly generated by the accused as investigated by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Both the documents will be useful during the extradtion hearings. It is important for the ED and CBI to prove Mallya’s criminality in both cases so that he can be tried not only under charges of bank fraud but also of money laundering,” a senior ED official said.