UK High Court dismisses fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s appeal against extradition to India

Fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya on Monday lost his UK High Court appeal against his extradition order to India in relation to charges of fraud and money laundering.

Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, the two-member bench at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, presided over the appeal.

The appeal was dismissed in a judgement handed down by email due to Coronavirus lockdown.

The case will now go to home secretary Priti Patel for a final decision.

The Judges ruling stated, “We consider that while the scope of the prima facie case found by the SDJ [Senior District Judge] is in some respects wider than that alleged by the Respondent in India [Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED)], there is a prima facie case which, in seven important respects, coincides with the allegations in India.”

Mallya, 64, who is wanted in India on alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs. 9,000 crore, had challenged the extradition order in the UK High Court.