A court in Delhi on Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate’s custody of corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar in a money laundering case after the agency claimed that he has links with fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, PTI reported.
The directorate had sought a seven-day extension of Talwar’s custody, saying he needs to confronted in the presence of his son, who has been summoned on February 11. Special Judge SS Mann then extended Talwar’s custody till February 12.
Talwar has been in the investigating agency’s custody since his extradition from Dubai on January 30. He was arrested along with Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena, who is an accused in the AgustaWestland chopper scam.
The Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation have been investigating the lobbyist’s involvement in a case related to the alleged misuse of Rs 90 crore from a corporate social responsibility initiative. The two agencies have booked him for criminal conspiracy and the Income Tax department has charged him with tax evasion. The Enforcement Directorate had initially accused Talwar of serving as a middleman in a deal to favour foreign private airlines and sideline national carrier Air India.
Earlier this week, the United Kingdom government approved Mallya’s extradition to India. Mallya, who moved to London in March 2016, is fighting a number of lawsuits in the United Kingdom and India related to fraud and money laundering allegations. Last week, the businessman claimed that his firm’s assets worth Rs 13,000 crore were seized on behalf of a consortium of banks whom he owes Rs 9,000 crore.
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