by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi (IANS) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the UK has turned down India’s request for deportation of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, but added that he can be extradited once a chargesheet is filed against him.
Jaitley, who is Leader of House in Rajya Sabha, was speaking after Janata Dal-United (JD-U) member Sharad Yadav raised the issue in the house.
“Government has said we will get him back. UK has clearly denied it and said there is no question of sending him back. This man took so many things from here and government was sleeping,” Yadav said.
Jaitley, in response, said that his deportation was sought by the investigative agencies, but was turned down by the UK.
“Investigative agencies are probing the wrongdoings. In course of the investigation, since his diplomatic passport has been cancelled, the investigative agencies sought his deportation,” Jaitley informed the elders.
The minister, clarifying that he is still collecting information, said: “What I have got to know so far is that deportation is not allowed when a person entered on a valid passport and then the passport is cancelled.”
“The process is that when a chargesheet is filed, we seek extradition. It is another legal process,” he said.
Jaitley added the UK has done it in the past as well.
The British government has turned down India’s request to deport Mallya and has called for requesting mutual legal assistance or extradition.
“They have asked the Indian government to consider requesting mutual legal assistance or extradition,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mallya was a member of Rajya Sabha before he sent his resignation last week. The resignation came as the ethics committee of the upper house had recommended that he should be expelled.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Large Enterprise
New Delhi : (IANS) The Supreme Court was told on Wednesday that beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya has on Wednesday morning offered to pay Rs.4,000 crore for settling outstanding dues against the grounded Kingfisher Airlines on account of loans extended to it by a consortium of 13 banks headed by the State Bank of India.
The apex court bench of Justice Kurien Joseph and Rohington F. Nariman was also told that Mallya has offered another Rs.2,000 crore that he expects to get, if he succeeds in his suit against multinational General Electric.
Mallya’s counsel said that the proposal for the payment of Rs.4,000 crore by September was made to the chief general manager of the State Bank of India (SBI).
The SBI told the court that it needed a week’s time to consider the proposal made by Vijay Mallya, and submitted that way back in 2013 the bank had filed a suit claiming Rs.6,903 crore plus interest thereon.
In a query from the bank about Mallya’s location, his counsel told the court that he was still abroad but had two video conferencing sessions with the bank officials after his departure from India to London.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz
Mumbai : (IANS) Beleaguered business tycoon Vijay Mallya has decided to step down as the chairman of pharma major Sanofi India, nearly 33 years after he assumed the post, the company said in a statement here.
Mallya conveyed his decision not to seek re-election as a director at the company’s ensuing Annual General Meeting, said the Sanofi statement issued late Wednesday.
Mallya had first joined in December 1973 as director of Sanofi India Ltd (SIL), then known as Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He functioned as the board chairman since December 1983.
“I have been privileged to preside over the board of this company, which started as Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and to have participated in its phenomenal growth and prosperity over such an extraordinarily long period of time,” Mallya said in a farewell statement.
“It was gratifying that the company continued serving needy patients in India with world-class medication while ensuring consistent returns to all stakeholders.”
Mallya, who is believed to be hiding in the United Kingdom, is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case. The former liquor baron — known as ‘king of good times’ — has denied that he was “absconding”, saying as an “international businessman” he is currently abroad on a business trip and was expected to return by March-end.
SIL Managing Director Shailesh Ayyangar said under Mallya’s leadership, in the past 10 years, the company’s sales grew from Rs.800 crore to Rs.2,000 crore, share price shot up from Rs.1,655 to Rs.4,358, market cap has almost tripled and the employee strength more than doubled from 1,500 to 3,700.
The SIL announced plans to induct Aditya Narayan and Usha Thorat as two new independent directors for five years from April 30, 2016. Subject to fulfilling all requirements, Aditya Narayan, 64, is slated to succeed Mallya as SIL Chairman.
SIL is listed on both BSE and NSE. Its parent Sanofi has 60.4 percent equity stake in SIL whose portfolio includes pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare products.
In pharma, SIL has a strong presence in diabetes, being the only company with a balanced oral and insulin portfolio.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
New Delhi : (IANS) The Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha on Monday took cognizance of the issue of Vijay Mallya, an Independent member of the upper house and business tycoon accused of defaulting on bank loans totalling Rs.9,000 crore.
Without spelling out the course of action, committee chairman Karan Singh told reporters that more meetings of the panel will be held to discuss the issue.
“The ethics committee meeting was fixed over some other issues. This morning, we got a file from Rajya Sabha Chairman (M. Hamid Ansari). There were two other issues, but we looked into this issue as well. We have taken cognizance,” he said.
The Congress leader said more meetings of the committee will be held before a decision on the matter, but refused to speak on the likely course of action.
“We will proceed as per the rules,” he said.
Mallya, elected to the upper house from Karnataka, is set to retire on June 30.
A consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India had sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to restrain the business tycoon from leaving the country, his arrest and impounding of his passport.
The court was, however, informed that Mallya had left India on March 2.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
New Delhi : (IANS) Upping the ante on the Vijay Mallya issue, the Congress on Monday asked the government to act against the public officials and politicians who helped the businessman flee from India.
“We request Modi government to rise above rhetoric and face the reality. Prime minister must concentrate on deportation of Vijay Mallya and ensure that 9,091 crore rupees are recovered. It is not important which party the politicians who helped him belong to. Whoever they are, the government must take action against them,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said while talking to reporters outside parliament.
The party also alleged that “Mallya has run away in accordance to ‘Fair & Lovely Scheme’ of Modi government”, a jibe that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took on the government’s budget provision for black money holders to escape punishment.
“He is now a double NRI, first he was ‘Non Repaying Indian’ and second he is ‘Non Returning Indian’. Instead of fulfilling the promise of bringing back black money, Modi government’s record in last 22 months is that, two persons have escaped — one Mr Lalit Modi and Mr Mallya — to foreign shores under their very nose and with active or tacit complicity and abetment,” Surjewala said.
He alleged that people in government have facilitated the two businessmen in fleeing the country.
“Shri Mallya was present in Parliament on 1st March, 2016 where he reportedly met FM Shri Jaitley, and had a conversation with him. We all know what happened then, while CBI, Banks, SFIOs, SEBI, IT, Service Tax, etc were looking for him, yet he left on 2nd of March,” Surjewala added.
He also stressed that the government must share with parliament the conversation that transpired between the finance minister and Mallya.
“Shri Mallya met FM before he left, admittedly he also spoke to union finance secretary. Did FM inform honourable PM about the conversation that took place in the meetings, will the government share it with the parliament and the people of India as to what was the nature of meeting and conversation that transpired between FM and Shri Mallya,” asked Surjewala.
He also asked the central government about the steps being taken by it to recover the public money.
“Will government seek deportation of Shri Mallya from UK (Britain) by exerting pressure in order to recover Rs.9,091 crore of public money or will this case also be sent to the layers of statutory extradition, which wouldn’t fructify for years together as in case of Mr. Lalit Modi,” Surjewala said.
The Congress reaction came after the Indian courts issued non-bailable warrant against the businessmen for not repaying the loans he had taken from commercial banks.
