No time frame for extradition of Vijay Mallya: UK diplomat

British Higher Commissioner Sir Philip Barton on Thursday (July 23) said no time frame can be provided for the extradition of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya even though the British government and the courts are “clear” on their roles about preventing people from avoiding justice by crossing border.

The British diplomat, however, refused to comment on being asked if the businessman had sought asylum in the UK. India had last month urged Britain not to consider such requests for asylum from Mallya.

“We never comment on asylum cases, so I can’t comment on that. The UK government and our courts are absolutely clear in their roles in preventing people from avoiding justice by moving from countries,” news agency ANI quoted the British diplomat as saying.

“We are all determined to play our part in any case, and to make sure that we are working together to ensure that criminals can’t escape justice by crossing national borders,” Barton was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. He also said there is an ongoing legal case and he can’t comment further on it.

The UK had earlier stated that a “confidential legal issue” was holding up the extradition process of Mallya. In May, Mallya had lost his appeal at the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to India, where he owes ₹9,961 crore to a consortium of banks.

On April 20, the UK High Court had dismissed his plea against his extradition on charges of fraud and money laundering related to unrecovered loans to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Two weeks later, he had filed an application seeking leave to appeal in the court. However, he lost his application on May 7.

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