Vijay Mallya's extradition nears as UK High Court rejects plea

In a major setback, the UK High Court rejected fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya's appeal against his extradition order on Monday.

The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, wanted in India on alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to about Rs 9,000 crore, took to social media recently to claim unfair treatment in the context of struggling Indian airlines Jet Airways being thrown a lifeline by public sector banks.

In her ruling at the end of his extradition trial in December, 2018, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot had concluded that Mallya has a case to answer in the Indian courts over substantial "misrepresentations" of his financial dealings.

"There is clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds and I find a prima facie case that Dr Mallya was involved in a conspiracy to launder money," she noted.

Now, the same judge is expected to preside over the next major Indian extradition trial to come before the Westminster Magistrates' Court, that of diamantaire Modi - wanted for alleged "high value and sophisticated" fraud and money laundering amounting to $2 billion.