Vijay Mallya appears in London Court for pre-trial hearing

London: Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday for his pre-trial extradition hearing.

The 61-year-old businessman, out on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard earlier this year, had been exempt from appearing before the court until his extradition trial scheduled to begin December 4.

He has repeatedly stressed that he has done nothing wrong and will let the evidence speak in court.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is arguing the case against Mallya on behalf of the Indian authorities, had presented additional “supplemental” charges of money laundering to the previous charges of fraud at the last hearing in the case on October 3.

The previous fraud charges relate to Mallya’s now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owing more than Rs 9,000 crore to various Indian



banks.

The UB Group chief has been on self-imposed exile in the UK since he fled India on March 2, 2016.

The CPS said it was technically re-filing its extradition request in court, after the new charges “superseded” the previous ongoing case.

The judge, Chief Magistrate Emma Louise Arbuthnot, agreed to formally re-open a fresh case while keeping to the same time-table as set before.

However, she had concurred with Mallya’s defence team that if further evidence keeps coming in it could put the December 4 trial date at “risk” before releasing him on the same bail conditions as before.

The conditions of his bail include providing a bail bond worth 650,000 pounds, assuring the court of abiding by all conditions associated with extradition proceedings, such as the surrender of his passport and a ban on him possessing any travel documents.