As reported swirled about the imminent return of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya who has exhausted all options in his battle against extradition, British authorities have said there is a still a long way to go before the former liquor tycoon’s formal handover to India.
A British High Commission spokesman was quoted by CNBC TV as saying Mallya cannot be extradited to India anytime soon as there is a legal issue that needs to be resolved. “There is a further legal issue that needs resolving before Mr Mallya’s extradition can be arranged. Under United Kingdom law, extradition cannot take place until it is resolved,” said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said that the issue is confidential and “we cannot go into any detail”. “We cannot estimate how long this issue will take to resolve. We are seeking to deal with this as quickly as possible,” the channel quoted him saying.
Issuing further clarification, the UK High Commission reiterated that their is no change in the extradition status as yet.
On Wednesday, a report said that Mallya was being flown to Mumbai and he would be accompanied by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.
Mallya is wanted in India in the Rs 9,000 crore loan default case involving 17 banks.
-India Legal Bureau