Enforcement Directorate moves court, seeks to declare Vijay Mallya absconder

The Enforcement Directorate has said it had approached the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai seeking to declare former liquor baron Vijay Mallya an absconder and attach his properties as he did not comply with a proclamation order issued against him.

The special court for cases under PMLA had declared Mallya, a proclaimed offender in June. The ED had sought an order from the court under CrPC Section 82 (proclamation of absconding person) to term the liquor baron a proclaimed



offender as several arrest warrants were pending against him. The warrants were also related to the cases for cheque-bouncing. 

ED wanted Mallya to join the investigation "in person" in probe under the PMLA and cases related to a Rs 900-crore loan from IDBI Bank. It said it had exhausted other legal remedies like seeking Interpol arrest warrant and getting his passport revoked. It also wanted to invoke the India-United Kingdom Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to get Mallya extradited from the UK.