On February 4, Monday, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid approved the fugitive Kingfisher owner Vijay Mallya's extradition order which will clear the deck for his return to India. The Indian officials expressed their happiness as Mallya has been accused of absconding after committing an alleged fraud of ₹9,000 crore.
On 3 February the Secretary of State, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed the order for Vijay Mallya's extradition to India," a UK Home Office spokesperson said.
Now, Mallya has 14 days to appeal to the UK High Court. After the decision came out, Mallya tweeted,
After the decision was handed down on December 10,2018 by the Westminster Magistrates Court, I stated my intention to appeal. I could not initiate the appeal process before a decision by the Home Secretary. Now I will initiate the appeal process.
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) February 4, 2019
On Friday, the liquor baron had claimed that his group's properties worth over ₹13,000 crore have been attached whereas the 'claimed' ₹9,000 crore that he had run away with.
Earlier, in December 2018, Westminster Magistrates’ Court Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot had ruled in favour of extradition of Mallya.
On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court that it had no objection to the restoration of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya's properties to the consortium of banks, but they (banks) should provide an undertaking to return the amount claimed by them to the court in the future.