Vijay Mallya extradition case: CBI sends 'new and improved' jail cell video to UK authorities
In November 2017, fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya said that the 'poor Indian jails' were the reason why he wasn't returning to the country.
At the time, he had also demanded VVIP treatment in prison.
Earlier this month, Mallya, 62, also complained that there was 'no natural light' and 'fresh air' inside Indian prisons. This prompted a UK court on Tuesday asked India for a video of a cell at Arthur Road Jail. The court has set September 12 as the date for closing arguments of the high-profile extradition trial.
However, as per a Mumbai Mirror report, it appears that the Central Bureau of Investigation has finished the work much before the deadline. According to the report, 'the flooring has been changed, tiles replaced, walls painted and bathroom refurbished. A video of the new and improved cell has been shot by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is the agency coordinating Mallya’s extradition. The top-secret video has been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs to aid in the extradition process.'
In July this year, The Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Tuesday granted bail Mallya in his high-profile extradition trial.
Mallya, who has been on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, is fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore.
Mallya said that he has not applied for any clemency plea. "I am ready to settle my dues."
The CBI had submitted a detailed set of documents to the UK court, which includes its case of conspiracy against former IDBI Bank Deputy Managing Director BK Batra, who was referred to in court as a new "villain" of sorts in the case.
As per the Indian authorities' case of conspiracy, Batra reportedly colluded with Mallya in sanctioning some of the loans to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines without following due diligence procedures.
Mallya's defence team, headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, has disputed the fraud allegations and also submitted further written material from UK-based prisons expert Dr Alan Mitchell, challenging some of the photographs of Barrack 12 of Mumbai Central Prison on Arthur Road, where Mallya is to be held if he is extradited from the UK.
The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya, who has been based in the UK since he left India in March 2016.
Last month, after a prolonged period of silence, Mallya had issued a lengthy media statement, labelling the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) charges against him as untenable and blatantly false". He has since lost his appeal in the UK's Court of Appeal against a High Court order in favour of 13 Indian banks to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.
from Daily News & Analysis https://ift.tt/2PPxiB1
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