French authorities have seized fugitive Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya's property, worth 1.6 million Euros ($1.9 million), following a request from India's economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“Investigations conducted under PMLA (India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act) revealed that a large amount was remitted abroad from the bank account of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAL)”, the ED said in an official statement on Friday.
The agency also stated that Indian authorities have already been able to seize properties worth INR 112,310 million ($15.22 billion) since 2016, all of them formerly owned by Mallya, who was declared an “economic offender” under Indian law last year.
Mallya, a former liquor baron and owner of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, fled India in 2016. He is said to currently be living in the UK.
Mallya’s flight from the country was prompted after his creditors approached a court for the recovery of loans that had been disbursed to his businesses.
However, in a blow to the Indian government’s efforts to bring back the former business magnate, the UK is said to have initiated proceedings to grant him asylum.
The Indian government told the Supreme Court in October that the extradition of Mallya wasn’t happening as anticipated due to “another secret proceeding” in the UK, as per a report in the Indian daily Hindustan Times.