Businessman Vijay Mallya on Tuesday lost a lawsuit in the United Kingdom that 13 Indian banks had filed seeking to collect more than $1.55 billion (Rs 10,385 crore) amid allegations that he committed massive fraud, Bloomberg reported.
Judge Andrew Henshaw allowed the banks to enforce the order of an Indian court on allegations against Mallya, who is accused of willfully defaulting on about $1.4 billion (Rs 9,380 crore) in debt for his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
The 62-year-old businessman is fighting a number of lawsuits in the UK and India related to fraud and money-laundering allegations. He is also fighting the Central Bureau of Investigation’s attempts to extradite him from the UK. The court hearing that case on April 27 accepted most of the evidence that the CBI had submitted against Mallya.
The businessman, who has been in the United Kingdom since March 2016, has said he will not return to the country. India’s Ministry of External Affairs submitted an extradition request to the United Kingdom in February 2017 after Mallya made his self-imposed exile clear. The request was made on the basis of an extradition treaty signed between the countries in 1992.
Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Tuesday directed officials to attach properties owned by Mallya, who was declared a proclaimed offender for evading summons in a money laundering case, PTI reported. The judge scheduled the next hearing for June 5.
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