New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the proceedings of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Vijay Mallya before the money laundering tribunal in Mumbai.
The matter was brought before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who issued a notice to the ED on the issue.
Lawyer Fail S. Nariman appearing for Mallya opposed the Bombay High Court order, saying that it wasn’t maintainable.
The ED had filed an application in July before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court seeking the “fugitive economic offender” tag for Mallya under the Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Act, 2018. It had also sought immediate confiscation of around Rs 12,500 crore worth of assets.
Mallya had sought a stay on hearing of ED’s plea, but it was rejected by the special court on 30 October. Mallya then challenged this in the Bombay High Court, which refused to interfere in the proceedings.
On 22 November, the Bombay High Court dismissed his plea seeking a stay on the ED’s request to declare him a fugitive economic offender, and confiscate all his properties.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising justices RM Savant and VK Jadhav rejected Vijay Mallya’s appeal and observed that the order of the special PMLA court was not appealable under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
Days before a UK court is set to rule on his bid to block his extradition to India, United Breweries chairman Vijay Mallya on 5 December offered to pay back “100% of the principal amount” he owes banks. “I see the quick media narrative about my extradition decision. That is separate and will take its own legal course. The most important point is public money and I am offering to pay 100% back. I humbly request the banks and government to take it. If payback is refused, why?” Mallya said in the first of a series of tweets on Wednesday morning.
Mallya, whose extradition case ruling will be delivered on 10 December, said Kingfisher Airlines floundered because of rising prices of aviation turbine fuel.
In June 2017, the ED filed a charge sheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) alleging that Mallya fled to the UK on 2 March 2016 as a consortium of 13 banks, led by the State Bank of India closed in on him, with Mallya owing them Rs 9,000 crore.