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India is committed to extraditing fugitives wanted by Indian law from abroad
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MEA spokesperson confirmed ongoing talks with governments for extradition processes
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Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya declared fugitive economic offenders by India in 2019
India remains "fully committed" in extraditing fugitives from abroad, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday, after a social media post by Lalit Modi drew attention to the case.
In an Instagram post this week, which was later taken down, Modi posted a video of himself and former owner of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya, in which he can be heard saying, "We are the two fugitives, the biggest fugitives of India", according to an NDTV report.
The caption of the post also appeared to include a taunt. "Let me do something to break the internet down again. Something for you folks. Wat your heart out with envy (sic)," it read.
In response to questions from the media, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We remain fully committed that people who are fugitives, who are wanted by law in India, they return to the country. For this particular return, we are in talks with several governments and processes are on."
"In several of these cases, there are several layers of legalities involved. But we remain committed to bringing them back to the country so that they can face trial before the courts here," Jaiswal added.
Modi (62) had left India in 2010 following allegations of large-scale tax evasion, money laundering and shady deals related to the Indian Premier League, which he had helped found. He was declared a fugitive economic offender in 2019.
Mallya, 69, fled India in 2016 after allegations of fraud. The government declared him a "fugitive economic offender" in 2019. The businessman had defaulted on loans and owes banks in India approximately Rs 9,000 crore, with major public sector banks suffering significant losses. The former United Breweries Ltd. chairman has claimed that banks have already recovered over Rs 14,000 crore by seizing his assets.
Both individuals have taken residence in the UK, where the Indian government is fighting a legal battle for their extradition.
Modi's social media post had triggered criticism of the government's handling of the extradition proceedings even as their social media profiles are peppered with photos and videos of them living it up.
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