Indian govt insists “plenty of evidence” to prove Mallya guilty

By Poonam Joshi
London [UK], Feb 13 (ANI): The Indian government on Wednesday reiterated its accusation that Vijay Mallya willfully misrepresented the financial health of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, as the fraud-accused liquor baron’s appeal against his extradition to India continued at the High Court in London.
The government – represented at the hearing by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – insisted that there was overwhelming evidence of fraud and deception on Mallya’s part in the saga surrounding the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines in 2012.
It follows arguments yesterday and early this morning by Mallya’s legal representatives.
The tycoon’s lead counsel Clare Montgomery had described the case as complex and “dense” and claimed that the magistrate who ordered Mallya’s deportation to face charges in India – judge Emma Arbuthnot, sitting at Westminster Magistrate – had misunderstood or misinterpreted many of the circumstances that led to the grounding of Kingfisher Airlines.
Those details and judge Arbuthnot’s interpretation of the financial complexities of the case were irrelevant, said Mark Summers, as she only had to establish that the Indian government had a “Prima Facie” case against Mallya based on the evidence.
Mallya, 64, was arrested in London in April 2017 after being accused by a consortium of banks of wilfully defaulting on more than Rs 9000 Crores in debt accumulated by Kingfisher Airlines.
Mallya contends that the collapse of the airline was a business failure due to difficult economic conditions.
The appeal hearing at the High Court continues. (ANI)