Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is an economic offender, dismissed the statement by an Enforcement Directorate official, who claimed that Mallya was trying to make a plea bargain. The official dismissed the offer by the liquor baron to pay off all his dues if his seized assets are released and said that it is not an option.
In response to the refusal, Mallya tweeted,
Media reports quote an ED official stating that I am attempting a plea bargain. Would respectfully suggest that the official read the ED charge sheet first. I would invite the ED to advance the same plea bargain theory in Court in front of whom I have placed my assets.
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) June 30, 2018
According to reports, the official denied the offer and called it “an attempt at plea bargaining and a bid to bolster his case against extradition to India from Britain.”
Mallya had e-mailed the Economic Times, claiming that some of his assets which were detained by the investigating agency belonged to his company, Kingfisher Airlines and belonged to him even before Kingfisher Airlines had even started.
"The ED allegations and attachment of assets are solely based on funds loaned to Kingfisher Airlines by PSU banks. The assets attached were acquired well before Kingfisher Airlines even started and cannot be considered proceeds of crime to legally justify the attachments," the e-mail said.
The ED official said that the seized assets in such cases are confiscated regardless of source and the plea by Mallya did not apply. He also emphasised that a fugitive cannot dictate terms and the assets are no longer his to sell. Mallya had also written a letter to Prime Minister earlier this week.
Currently, Mallya is facing trial in the UK for extradition against him to India and is under charges of money laundering of more than ₹9,000 crore.
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