Mallya extradition to be decided on Dec 10
Fugitive billionaire says met FM before leaving India; Jaitley dismisses remark, says never gave appointment since 2014
LONDON:THE judgment on India’s request to extradite businessman Vijay Mallya to face charges of financial offences running into thousands of crores will be delivered on December 10, the Westminster magistrates court said on Wednesday, even as the fugitive Indian billionaire set off a political storm back home by saying he had met finance minister Arun Jaitley just before fleeing to London, and offered to settle his debts.
Mallya, who arrived in London in March 2016 and was arrested in April 2017, was present in court as his legal team and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), acting on India’s behalf, reiterated and substantiated points made at earlier hearings on loans from IDBI Bank. Mallya’s bail was extended till December 10.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley dismissed Mallya’s remarks. In a statement, Jaitley said he had never given an appointment since 2014 to Mallya, who “misused” his privilege as a member of Rajya Sabha by trying to talk to him about an offer of settlement. Jaitley said Mallya “occasionally attended the House” and misused “that privilege on one occasion while I was walking out of the House to go to my room”.
The statement added, “He paced up to catch up with me and while walking uttered a sentence that ‘I am making an offer of settlement’. Having been fully briefed about his earlier ‘bluff offers’, without allowing him to proceed with the conversation, I curtly told him, ‘there was no point talking to me’ and he must make offers to his bankers.”
The minister said “the question of (Mallya) having met me does not arise” and that he had not received “the papers that (Mallya) was holding in his hand”.
He added, “Besides this one sentence exchange where he misused his privilege as a Rajya Sabha member, in order to further his commercial interest as a bank debtor, there is no question of my having ever given him an appointment to meet me.”
CONTINUED ON P 10