Mallya’s passport revoked, but why bringing him back may not be easy
The foreign ministry may have revoked liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s passport on Enforcement Directorate’s (ED’s) request, but officials say a long legal battle stands in the way of bringing the businessman back to India.
Mallya, known for his flashy lifestyle, left the country on March 2 after calls for his arrest and is believed to be in the UK. The former UB Group chairperson and his defunct Kingfisher Airlines owe more than Rs 9,000 crore to 17 banks.
Mallya, known for his flashy lifestyle, left the country on March 2 after calls for his arrest and is believed to be in the UK. The former UB Group chairperson and his defunct Kingfisher Airlines owe more than Rs 9,000 crore to 17 banks.
“…Mallya’s permission to stay in UK does not automatically end once his passport is cancelled here. But if he is still there, then he cannot go anywhere else. He will have to remain confined to the UK, unless he acquires citizenship of some other country and hence a new passport as well,” lawyer MS Khan said.
An official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on condition of anonymity: “The UK is a country that is not very open to deporting people as instances in the past showed.” He was not authorised to speak to the media.
The CBI has registered a Rs 900-crore loan default case involving the 60-year-old Mallya and the IDBI Bank. The ED, which investigates financial crimes, is also looking into the case. Mallya has ignored three summonses issued by the ED and sought time till May to depose before the agency.
Now, Mallya can challenge the government’s move in Delhi high court on grounds that the passport revocation was done without any legal merit, an ED official said.