Vijay Mallya held guilty of contempt; SC asks him to appear in person

The former liquor baron is in trouble in the courts, not just in the UK, but also in India

The Supreme Court today held businessman Vijay Mallya guilty of contempt of court for transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of the court's order.

"We have found respondent number 3 (Mallya) guilty of contempt of court on two grounds," a bench comprising Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit said.

The apex court directed Mallya, who is presently in the United Kingdom, to appear before it on July 10 to argue on the quantum of punishment in the matter.

The order came on a plea by consortium of banks led by SBI, which had said that Mallya had allegedly transferred USD 40 million which he had received from British firm Diageo, to his children in "flagrant violation" of various judicial orders.

The 61-year-old Mallya, who lives in the United Kingdom and is facing extradition proceedings, is wanted in India for alleged loan default and money laundering worth more than Rs 9,000 crore.

Earlier this month, a joint team of the ED and CBI is in London to seek extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

The sources said the team would push for the extradition of Mallya, who fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued recovery of Rs 8,191 crore he owed to Indian banks by his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The government has said that its agencies were making their best efforts to have Mallya face trial in India.

Mallya was arrested and granted bail in London last month. The next hearing of the case will be on May 17.

The Indian government had in February this year, handed over to British authorities a formal request for Mallya's extradition, saying it had a legitimate case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.