Vijay Mallya Arrested, Released on Bail For Second Time in UK

Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who had been out on bail since his arrest in April, was arrested for the second time and released on bail once again in London on Oct. 3. Mallya’s arrest took place in connection with the second money laundering case filed by India’s Enforcement Directorate, according to a statement by UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.

Mallya will appear before the Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London on Oct. 3. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue on behalf of the Indian government. India had made an extradition request in February to the UK to make Mallya face trial in the country. The request was followed with a 2,000 page dossier as evidence against him. Mallya was arrested for the first time on April 18 by the Scotland Yard, but got bail within three hours.

Mallya submitted an elaborate response to India’s request last month. The extradition case will now be taken up on Dec. 4. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which handles financial crimes, are clubbing their cases against him to strengthen the case for extradition. Mallya has at least half a dozen warrants against him in India.

The 61-year-old businessman, who has been living in the United Kingdom for more than a year now, is accused of foreign exchange violation, debt recovery and embezzlement in India. His now defunct Kingfisher Airlines allegedly owes over Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 Indian banks.

Mallya was earlier this year fired from the board of United Breweries, the firm which was at the core of his business empire.

The businessman has dismissed the charges leveled against him, saying in interviews to media that cancelling his passport “won’t help them bring their money back” and that he was getting familiar with “witch hunts coming from all directions with no legal basis”. He has made numerous public appearances at sporting events, especially for the Formula One races as he owns a team.