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VJ Mallya to be sentenced in India
In imitation of the late Judge James Pickles, who famously asked “Who are The Beatles?”, the Bench in India’s Supreme Court in Delhi asked yesterday (Monday) why VJ Mallya had not been brought before it for sentencing for contempt of court.
VJ Mallya
The less unworldly might assume that it had something to do with the fact that Mallya, the former head of United Spirits, has fled to the UK where he is fighting extradition to India on numerous charges, including contempt.
Mallya has consistently denied all charges against him, claiming that they are politically motivated and that he will not be given a fair trial in India.
The initial extradition case will be heard in London in December. Meanwhile, the Indian authorities have delivered a second warrant against him, this one alleging money laundering.
India’s supreme court had planned to sentence him on 10 July for contempt of court for not disclosing all his assets and diverting $40m to overseas accounts held by his children, in violation of previous court orders.
India’s Supreme Court says it will sentence Mallya in absentia on Friday.
Mallya timeline
- 2012 – Mallya’s Kingfisher airline (named after the Indian beer brand produced by United Breweries, now controlled by Heineken) collapses into administration
- Consortium of Indian banks seek repayment of some £1.1bn in loans and interest stemming from the failure of Kingfisher. They claim that Mallya misappropriated the funds, diverting some of the loans into buying properties abroad.
- July 2014 – Diageo takes control of USL
- September 2014 – Mallya declared a willful’ defaulter by an Indian court for failing to pay debts.
- February 2016 – Diageo strikes deal with Mallya to pay him $75m to step down as USL’s non-executive chairman.
- March 2016 – Mallya flees to the UK on the day court orders were issued to seize his diplomatic passport, a document held by all members of India’s Senate.
- Novermber 2016 – Indian court rules he dishonestly diverted the first $40m of his Diageo payout to family in America when it should have been declared as part of his assets being assessed for debt repayment.
- May 2017 – Mallya arrested in London to face an extradition warrant to India, after he is found guilty of contempt of court. He was released on bail on condition that he surrendered his remaining passport, continued to live at his $15m Hertfordshire mansion and kept his mobile phone on him and fully charged at all times.