Vijay Mallya, the Indian Tycoon, has his Extradition Hearing set for December 2017

Vijay Mallya may be extradited to India after his hearing in December 2017. The Indian tycoon faces allegations of fraud and illegal fund diversions. The business tycoon is being represented by one of the best extradition barristers in the United Kingdom. Vijay Mallya’s London based barrister has suggested that even if the judge rules at the December hearing for the Indian Tycoon to be extradited, there would be a long appeals process that leaves a number of opportunities for the decision to be overruled.

The Indian tycoon, Vijay Mallya, is set to face the extradition courts in the United Kingdom in December 2017. The justices of the court will then decide whether Vijay Mallya can be extradited to India to face prosecution for fraud and illegal fund diversions.

In July 2017, Vijay Mallya appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court for the third time this year. Emma Arbuthnot, the Presiding magistrate of the day, heard that the Indian businessman is facing a second extradition after India requested he be returned to face further charges. Vijay Mallya allegedly laundered money whilst in India, the Indian government sent an extradition request so he could face trial for his alleged crimes. 

Vijay Mallya is being represented by one of the best barristers in London who has stated that, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, and his government have been seeking the extradition of Mr. Mallya to India for a number of months. He went on to say that if extradited Mr. Mallya will face trial for fraud and other alleged fund divisions linked to the collapse of, Kingfisher Airlines, his former company prior to its demise in 2012.

Mr Mallya has been living in London, England since March of last year. He has been under an enormous amount of pressure from India’s state banks to repay his debts. Mr. Mallya owes $1.3 billion following the demise of his airline last year.

In January of 2017, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation filed criminal charges against the financial tycoon, Mr. Mallya. They also filed criminal charges against nine of his bankers and a number of his former senior executives. The charges allege that Mr. Mallya diverted funds of over $134 million from a loan which had been extended to Mr. Mallya’s company, Kingfisher, by the state owned, IDBI bank.

Mr. Mallaya has one of the best extradition barristers working on his defence. Ben Watson, the said barrister, has confirmed to the court that the Indian prosecution team have sent them over eight hundred pages of material on the case. He said they have received all the documents and have just begun the process of working through all the information. He went on to say that Mr. Mallya is engaging with his extradition request constructively.

Mr. Mallya was not required to attend court last Thursday for the initial hearing. However, he attended the hearing and listened to the proceedings. The Indian Tycoon is currently on conditional bail and is not required to attend court until his extradition hearing in December.

A senior district Judge in the United Kingdom has stated that Mr. Mallya’s extradition hearing would start on the 4th December 2017. The trial is expected to last two weeks, the senior district judge will then retire to make her decision on whether she believes Mr. Mallya should be extradited to India.

However, the entire process is likely to last years. Although the hearing itself is said to last just two weeks, the appeals process offers a number of chances to have the decision appealed against.

Mr. Mallya was not only the owner of Kingfisher airline, he was also formerly the chairman of United spirits. United Spirits is the maker of Kingfisher beer and the largest spirit company in India. Mr. Mallya was arrested in April this year by Scotland Yard’s extradition unit. He was then taken into custody in London. Scotland Yard were acting on behalf of the Indian authorities who had made a request for Mr. Mallya to be arrested.

Mr. Mallya became a very unpopular figure in India after his debts began to grow. Mr. Mallya’s faltering airline company failed to pay pilots and cabin crew, individuals were not paid by the company for months. Mr. Mallya became increasingly unpopular because despite failing to pay those employed by his company, Mr. Mallya continued to live an incredibly lavish lifestyle.

Mr. Mallya moved to the United Kingdom in March of 2016. He moved to London even though a court order had been sought by his creditors to stop him from leaving the country. However, Mr. Mallya’s lawyer, who is one of the best extradition barristers based in London has commented that Mr. Mallya did not flee. Mr. Mallya himself has also denied the allegations that he fled India to avoid his creditors and paying his debts. According to Mr. Mallya his decision to leave India and move to the United Kingdom was not his decision, but that it was a “forced exile”.

The first ruling will be handed down in December 2017. Mr. Mallya’s extradition barrister will then be able to appeal if the ruling is not in their favour. If the appeal process is unsuccessful then the United Kingdom will have to surrender Mr. Mallya. In cases of extradition, the individual should normally be surrended within ten days of the final court order. In exceptional circumstances this time limit can be extended, with the agreement of the requesting state, who in this situation would be India.