Enforcement Directorate seeks revocation of Vijay Mallya's passport
This comes four days after the former liquor baron refused to present himself before the probe agency for the third time in a money laundering case.
The Enforcement Directorate has written to the Regional Passport Office in Delhi, asking them to revoke former liquor baron Vijay Mallya's passport, reported ANI. This comes four days after the businessman refused to present himself before the probe agency three times in connection with a money laundering case against him. On April 9, Mallya had sought time till May to be questioned.
The ED is investigating money laundering worth Rs 900 crore in an IDBI loan fraud case. Mallya reportedly cited ongoing legal proceedings in the Supreme Court over his pending loans as the reason. He had sought two earlier extensions from the ED, on March 18 and April 2. A witness called in an investigation by the agency can skip summons a maximum of three times.
On March 30, the Supreme Court rejected Mallya’s offer to pay off a part of the Rs 9,000 crore his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes 17 banks by September this year, and asked him to deposit a "substantial amount" to prove his bona fides. He was also named in the recent Panama Papers data leak.