Fugitive billionaire Vijay Mallya's assets in France have been seized on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“On the request of ED, a property of Mallya located at 32 Avenue FOCH, France, has been seized by the French authority. The value of the seized asset in France is 1.6 Million Euros (approximately Rs 14 crores).
Investigations conducted under PMLA revealed that a large amount was remitted abroad from the bank account of M/s. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAL),” the agency said in a statement on Friday.
“ED initiated investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) based on an FIR registered by CBI against KAL, Mallya and others on January 25, 2016. Provisional attachment orders have been issued wherein properties worth Rs. 11231.70 crore (market value at time of attachment) have been attached which was also confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (AA),” the agency said.
A Prosecution Complaint has been filed against Mallya, United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL), KAL, bank officials and others. “An application was also moved before the designated court to declare accused Vijay Mallya as Fugitive Economic offender. The Hon’ble Special Court (FEO Act), Mumbai was pleased to declare Vijay Mallya as fugitive economic offender on January 5, 2019,” it said.
The extradition request of Mallya was sent to the United Kingdom (UK) and the Westminster’s Magistrates court has ruled for extradition of Mallya on charges of money laundering on December 10, 2018. “The honourable court has observed that a clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds and prima facie, found that accused Mallya was involved in a conspiracy to launder money. Appeals of Mallya to the UK High Court and later Supreme Court have been rejected,” it said.
