Mallya's fugitive economic offender verdict on Jan 5

Mumbai, Dec 26: The Enforcement Directorate had approached the court to get Vijay Mallya declared as a fugitive economic offender and the order was supposed to be delivered today. But, the order has been adjourned till January 5, as the Special PMLA judge is not ready with his order.

Mallya had earlier told the Prevention Money Launder Act (PMLA) court that he was not a fugitive economic offender. He also said that he was not involved in the scheduled offence of money laundering.

Mallya's counsel Amit Desai had argued that since Mallya was arrested in the UK on the basis of an Indian warrant, an effort was clearly made to execute the warrant. Only when he is concealing himself from the execution, then one can say he is absconding, the counsel also argued.

The investigating agency probing financial crime wants Mallya to be declared as a fugitive economic offender and his properties to be confiscated under the new law in connection with a Rs 9,000 crore alleged bank fraud case

In June the Enforcement Directorate had filed an application before the PMLA court to declare him a fugitive economic offender and also sought to confiscate all his properties estimated to be around Rs 12,500 crore. The court took congnisance of the plea filed by the ED.