The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Monday that it managed to obtain a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against former liquor baron Vijay Mallya, and was looking to pursue a path that would get him extradited back to India to face various charges concerning non-repayment of loans to various banks.
A CBI spokesperson told International Business Times, India, that the probe agency has managed to elicit the NBW against Mallya from a special court in Mumbai in the case of the unpaid loan of Rs 900 crore to IDBI Bank. Mallya had managed to rack up several such high-value loans and then fled to the UK without paying them.
The spokesperson also said that it will now send the warrant to New Delhi, which will then forward it to the UK to extradite the businessman back to India. Although India and the UK have an extradition treaty in place, so far only one person has been extradited back to India from that country: Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel was an accused in a case related to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Patel's extradition in October this year has raised hopes of both Mallya and former Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi being brought back to India to stand trial for the charges they face.
Other NBWs against Mallya
Mallya has already had an NBW issued against him by a Delhi court for evading summons in a Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently probing that case.
Another case being probed by the ED had also seen a Mumbai court issue an NBW against Mallya. This was in April this year, and the case pertained to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It has been alleged in the case that Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines had used Rs 430 crore obtained as loan to buy assets on foreign shores.