Jaitley Counters Mallya’s Claim of Having Met Him Before Leaving

Earlier speaking to the media, Mallya claimed he met the finance minister before leaving India.

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya said that he had met the finance minister before leaving the country. 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

London’s Westminster Magistrates’ court will pronounce the verdict in fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s extradition case on 10 December, reported ANI.

On Wednesday, 12 September, Mallya reached the UK court where the matter was being heard. Speaking to the media, Mallya claimed, “I met the finance minister before I left and repeated the offer to pay the banks.” He has also alleged that banks objected to the settlement application filed by him.

However, after the finance minister labelled Mallya’s claim ‘false’, Mallya clarified that he didn’t have any formal meeting with Jaitley.

“I happened to meet Mr Jaitley in Parliament and told him that I am leaving for London. I did not have any formal meetings scheduled with him,” Mallya added.

FINANCE MINISTER LABELS MALLYA’S CLAIM ‘FALSE’

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to Facebook soon after Mallya claimed that he had met him before leaving India.

Jaitley said, “The statement is factually false in as much as it does not reflect truth. Since 2014, I have never given him any appointment to meet me and the question of his having met me does not arise. [sic]”

However, Jaitley added that Mallya did once misuse his privilege (of being an MP) and caught up with him while he was walking out of the House to his chamber.

“He paced up to catch up with me and while walking, uttered a sentence that ‘I am making an offer of settlement’. Having been fully briefed about his earlier ‘bluff offers’, without allowing him to proceed with the conversation, I curtly told him, ‘there was no point talking to me and he must make offers to his bankers.’

Arun Jaitley

OTHER POLITICAL LEADERS REACT

Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said that the entire BJP leadership must come clean on its ties with the embattled liquor tycoon.

Taking a dig at Arun Jaitley, the Indian National Congress put out a Kaun Banega Crorepati question on the person who helped Mallya flee.

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi hit out at the BJP, saying that not just Mallya, but even Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have been allowed to leave with impunity, reported ANI.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also claimed that all those who ‘looted public money’ and left the country, have left with the knowledge of the government.

“They (government) have to own up to the fact that they allowed this loot to happen and the fact that they are allowing this loot to happen,” Yechury added.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too questioned the alleged meeting between the finance minister and Mallya.

Another Congress leader, Anand Sharma, said, “Vijay Mallya has run away after looting money from banks and government had this information. So,when Finance Minister gave statements in Parliament on Vijay Mallya issue, he should have mentioned about this meeting with Mallya.”

ARGUMENTS IN COURT

Mallya’s lawyer alleged that CBI’s Rakesh Asthana threatened the banks to file a case against him, reported ANI.

Arguing in the court, Mallya’s defence lawyer also said that there is no evidence which suggests that Mallya or his company, Kingfisher, applied for the loans with bad intent.

Meanwhile, the prosecution has argued that Kingfisher Airlines misrepresented facts about the company’s performance when applying for loans.

MALLYA’S CONCERN ABOUT ARTHUR ROAD JAIL

The video, submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Judge Emma Arbuthnot's direction, was not played in open court as the judge said she had already reviewed it three times.

Mallya, who will be lodged at Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail if he is deported, had previously cited the jail’s “poor condition”, claiming that it does not have enough “natural light and ventilation.”

However, when the reporters asked Mallya about the condition of the jail as shown in the video presented by the Indian authorities, Mallya dodged the question and said that the video is “pretty impressive”.

According to The Indian Express, a CBI team in August had submitted an eight-minute long video of barrack 12 of the Arthur Road jail to refute Mallya’s claims. The team shot a ‘step-by-step’ video, following the UK court’s directive, showing the various facilities present at the barrack where Mallya would be lodged.

“The video shows that the barrack has cross ventilation. The cells open to a courtyard where the inmates could enjoy natural sunlight. The cells have western commodes, washing areas and inmates are provided bedding, which includes a mattress, a pillow and a bedsheet. Some of the cells also have TVs,” an official told The Indian Express.

BACKGROUND

India wants to extradite the 62-year-old former liquor baron from UK to face charges of fraud against 13 Indian banks which seek to recover over Rs 9,000 crore of loans granted to the defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, ANI and PTI)