Vijay Mallya First Person To Be Booked Under New Anti-Financial Fraud Law

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a prosecution complaint or a supplementary charge-sheet against liquor baron Vijay Mallya under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. The document has been filed before a special court under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), naming the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, UBHL (United Breweries Holdings Ltd) and Vijay Mallya under the new law.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018 aims to deter economic offenders from evading the law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

With several people accused in financial cases such as Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya living abroad, the government hopes this law will give the enforcement agencies more teeth to go after offenders who have fled the country.

Vijay Mallya is the first person to be booked under the new law to deal with those who commit financial crimes and leave the country. The special PMLA court will now begin the process to declare Vijay Mallya a "fugitive".

According to the Enforcement Directorate, all attached assets of Vijay Mallya can be auctioned under the new law and the ED can attach his properties in India and abroad.

The ED has already attached assets worth over Rs 6,000 crore belonging to Vijay Mallya, who is living in the UK and has not appeared before the ED, despite summoning him.

In April, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to promulgate the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018, giving the authorities powers to attach and confiscate the proceeds of crime and properties of economic offenders such as bank fraudsters or loan defaulters fleeing the country.