Welcoming a British court's judgement to extradite fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya to India, the CBI on Monday said it would bring him back soon.
"We welcome the decision and hope to bring Vijay Mallya back soon. CBI has its own inherent strengths. We worked hard on this case. CBI was always strong on facts and legally we were confident while pursuing extradition process," a CBI spokesperson said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also welcomed the UK court's judgement, calling it a "great day for India".
"No one who cheats India will go scot-free. The judgement of UK's court is welcome. An offender benefited during the UPA. The NDA brings him to book," Jaitley tweeted.
Giving its ruling following a prolonged litigation involving Mallya, who fled India in March 2016, the Westminster Magistrates Court in the UK said he must be extradited to India where he is accused of committing bank frauds amounting to Rs 9,000 crore.
The decision came six days after British national and middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, Christian Michael, was extradited to India from Dubai.
Mallya has repeatedly denied fleeing from India and said he was ready to pay back the money he owed to Indian banks.
Proceedings are on before the Mumbai Special Court against Mallya under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
Late in 2017, India filed extradition proceedings against Mallya which he has contested. He is currently on bail in London.
--IANS
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