Didn't file clemency plea in Karnataka HC, ready to settle dues: Vijay Mallya
London, July 31 : Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing money laundering charges in multi-crore fraud case, on Tuesday said he has not applied for any clemency plea in India's Karnataka High Court and is ready to settle dues.
Mallya's assertion came after he came out of the Westminster court in London which he visited, along with his son Siddharth, to attend proceedings on his extradition trial.
"I have not applied for any clemency plea or a plea bargain in my unconditional offer to the Karnataka High Court. I am ready to settle my dues... There are no further requests at all," Mallya said interacting with the media outside the court.
The beleaguered businessman denied the money laundering charges against him, terming them "completely false".
"Allegations of money laundering and stealing money are completely false... At the end of the day, the courts will decide. The full amount is also to be determined.
"You can't have a situation where assets are attached based on complaints by the banks... And yet, the interest metre is rising everyday. It's an inequitable situation. So, let the judiciary decide what is right," Mallya said.
On the issue of extradition, he said: "As far as extradition case is concerned, I think you all have heard it. That is now for the next hearing on September 12. And I look forward to it."
He further said any litigation is exhausting, because the time spent on litigation can be used for more productive things. Asked why he suddenly decided to settled in London, Mallya said: "I have been trying to settle here since 2015."
The 62-year-old liquor baron, who fled the country on March 2, 2016, has been living in London ever since despite summons from Indian courts and law enforcement agencies to appear before them for trial in various related cases.
In a statement on June 26, Mallya had said that he had petitioned the Karnataka High Court to permit him and his holding firm United Breweries Holding Ltd (UBHL) to sell their assets under its supervision to repay creditors, including state-run banks.
"UBHL and myself have filed an application before the Karnataka High Court on June 22, setting out available assets of about Rs 13,900 crore," said Mallya from London in a statement released by his office in Karnataka.
Asserting that recovery of loans is a civil matter but it had been made a criminal matter in his case, Mallya had blamed the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate for criminalising it despite his intentions to settle the bank dues.
A consortium of 17 banks, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), gave Rs 5,500-crore loans to Mallya's now defunct Kingfisher Airlines for over a decade.
Claiming that the bulk of the dues were on account of interest, Mallya said owing to injunctions, attachments and refusal to grant permission to sell the assets, this had kept mounting.
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SC seeks ED's response on journalist's bail plea in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response within three days on a bail plea of journalist Mahesh Langa in a money laundering case linked to an alleged financial fraud.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the jailed journalist, to file rejoinder, if needed, to the ED's response within two days of it being filed.
The top court fixed the case for further hearing on December 15.
During the brief hearing on Monday, Sibal said a journalist has been facing as many as six cases.
"The journalist is accused of extortion," the counsel for the ED said and sought a short adjournment on the ground that Solicitor General Tuhar Mehta was unavailable at the moment.
The top court on September 8 sought responses from the Gujarat government and the ED on Langa's bail plea.
While issuing the notices on Langa's bail plea, the bench asked, "What kind of a journalist is he?"
"With due respect, there are some very genuine journalists. But there are also people who on their scooter say we are 'patrakar' (journalists) and what they actually do everybody knows," the bench told Sibal.
Sibal replied that these are all allegations.
"In one FIR, he gets anticipatory bail, then a second FIR is lodged and again anticipatory bail is granted but now he is booked under a third FIR for income tax evasion. There are other things also against him," Sibal submitted.
He added that there is a background to the case also.
On July 31, the Gujarat High Court rejected Langa's bail plea in the money laundering case on the grounds that if released on bail, prejudice would be caused to the prosecution case.
On February 25, the ED said it arrested Langa in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged financial fraud.
He was first arrested in October 2024 in a GST fraud case.
The money laundering case against Langa stems from two FIRs filed by Ahmedabad police on charges of fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating and causing wrongful loss of lakhs of rupees to certain people.
