Mumbai: Vijay Mallya, the ‘king of good times’, became the first businessman to be declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ by a special anti-money laundering court in Mumbai.
A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Saturday declared Mallya an offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
Mallya’s properties can now be confiscated by the government, news agency ANI reported.
The anti-corruption court was hearing an application by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had filed an application in July before the court, seeking the ‘fugitive economic offender’ tag for Mallya under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. The ED had also sought immediate confiscation of about Rs 12,500 crore worth of assets.
Earlier, a UK court had ordered Mallya’s extradition.
Mallya is facing a case for defaulting Indian banks. On December 5, 2018, he offered to pay back the full amount of the principal loan he owed various banks.
Mallya’s outstanding amount of his loans, which he took from various banks, including interest, is Rs. 9,990.07 crore.
He left the country for London on March 2, 2016, via Germany, where he attended a conference of World Motorsports as a director. Mallya was then one of the owners Force India, a Formula One team.