 "Vijay Mallya")
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya filed an affidavit to the Supreme Court through his lawyers on Thursday stating his objections to requests made for disclosure of his foreign assets.
Mallya, in the UK since early March, has refused to show up despite several summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), leading to a non-bailable warrant against him as well as suspension of his passport.
Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines are being investigated for several alleged acts of fraud and money laundering in connection with Rs 9,000-crore loans issued by several banks.
According to the ED, Mallya has refused to co-operate on multiple occasions, leading to the Supreme Court commenting critically on his conduct and requesting him to disclose all his foreign-held assets.
In response to this, Mallya in his affidavit denied any liability to furnish the details because he was a non-resident Indian and his foreign assets were not subject to scrutiny by Indian authorities.
Along with the affidavit, Mallya stated the value of his foreign assets to the court in a sealed letter requesting confidentiality. He also made a declaration that no funds from Kingfisher Airlines had been used to acquire any of his assets abroad. The ED has authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, to conduct enquiries, summon and require filing of information. The Act authorises ED to investigate cross-border offences and does not limit its jurisdiction to India. Section 3 of the Act, which defines money laundering, does not fetter the definition to acts committed in India. The Act also contains provisions for freezing of property involved in money laundering and for enforcement in foreign jurisdictions through letters of request.
