Mallya engaged various experts to defend himself: CBI

The CBI on Tuesday said liquor baron Vijay Mallya engaged experts from the fields of banking, aviation sector, prisons conditions/human rights, political economics and law, apart from erstwhile officials of the UB Group and Force India Formula One Team Ltd to defend himself in the extradition case.

He defended himself by making submissions claiming about business failure and that the trial against him was motivated by extraneous factors including media frenzy, political motivations etc. He also mentioned that the prison conditions in India did not conform to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the CBI note released on Tuesday evening said.

A London court on Monday had cleared the extradition of Mallya to India to face trial in the loan default case. He had fled India in March 2016.

Countering Mallya's claims, the CBI note said it told the London court that he has committed offences and is required in India for facing the trial before the court against whom the chargesheet has been filed. "The Court was satisfied with the merits of the case against Vijay Mallya and the other aspects of protecting human rights in Indian presence etc," it said.

Providing highlights of the judgement, it said, "after availing the loans, there was willful and deliberate attempt by Mallya to divert the funds lying in his accounts to evade his obligations under the personal guarantee executed by him."

"Based on the evidence the court concluded that there was a prima facie case to answer for Mallya. It was further concluded that it was not a politically motivated trial and there was no evidence that Mallya’s extradition was being sought for extraneous considerations," the CBI said.

"The Court was satisfied with the assurances and materials provided by the government of India regarding prison and human rights conditions and ruled that the video of Arthur Road Jail, Barrack No 12 accurately portrayed adequately large space, high ceilings, fans, natural light, etc. The Court has also specifically made a positive mention about the impartiality and independence of Indian courts," it added.