ED to attach more Mallya assets, invoke criminal charges

Tightening its noose around Vijay Mallya, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to issue a third attachment order worth a few thousand crore rupees against the liquor baron in connection with its money laundering probe.

On Friday, Mallya told a Delhi court that he felt ''incapacitated'' and could not travel to India despite his ''best intentions'' as his passport had been revoked.

The ED has already attached assets worth Rs8,041 crore as part of its criminal probe against Mallya and this time, the targeted assets would include those on foreign shores. While the ED has till now been effecting seizure of assets under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said the next round of attachments would be carried out under sections of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The agency had got a proclamation issued by a Mumbai court under CrPC after he skipped multiple summons.

The agency, meanwhile, has also moved to add fresh charges against him in its existing request to Interpol for issuance of a global arrest warrant. It wants to invoke the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between India and the UK in order to force Mallya to join the probe.