Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s assets in France worth 1.6 million euros (over Rs 14.32 crore) has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate, the investigation agency said on Friday.

“Investigations revealed that a large amount was remitted abroad from the bank account of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd,” the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement, according to NDTV. The action was undertaken by French authorities on the request of the central agency and the property that has been seized is located at 32 Avenue FOCH in France, the statement added.

Mallya, who is fighting his extradition to India, faces fraud and money laundering charges in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore resulting from the collapse of his defunct company Kingfisher Airlines.

Last month, the external affairs ministry said that his extradition from the United Kingdom is held up due to “a confidential legal issue” and there is no timeline available for the process.

In February 2017, India had submitted an extradition request to the United Kingdom after Mallya made it clear he would not return. In July 2019, the United Kingdom High Court allowed him to challenge his extradition order.

Mallya has repeatedly denied the charges against him and offered to pay back 100% of the amount borrowed by Kingfisher Airlines, but neither the banks nor the Enforcement Directorate has been willing to accept the offer. He also claimed that the allegations against him were related to borrowing only Rs 900 crore.