The Crown Prosecution Service had had excellent cooperation with Indian authorities, the barrister representing them said at the hearing on Vijay Mallya’s extradition on Thursday, as the court confirmed the main case would be taken as planned on December 4. India has handed detailed evidence covering over 2,000 pages to British authorities, including new charges relating to money laundering, the latest of which was handed to the defence late on Wednesday, the court heard.
India had provided three sets of detailed information — the first covering over 500 pages of the prima facie case from February ahead of Mr. Mallya’s arrest in April, and two further in June. The last document, dated June 29 included details of further charges relating to money laundering, the defence told the court, as it sought to keep the main hearing on December 4, as the prosecution pushed for the date to be moved forward. having received all the necessary evidentiary materials from India. These included details that foresaw requests that might arise during the course of the case, including on prison conditions for Mr. Mallya should he be extradited back to India. Speaking for the CPS, barrister Mark Summers of Matrix Chambers said they were “ready and willing to proceed….we invite the court to now fix this extradition hearing at the earliest date the court can accommodate.”
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot released a back-up date in April that the defence had requested.
Speaking for Mr. Mallya, barrister Ben Watson said that they had in the last day received two sets of documents — running to over 800 and 700 pages respectively and from June. While Mr. Mallya wished to engage as “constructively as possible with the proceedings,” they hadn’t had the opportunity to consider the implications of new material including on potential new charges relating to money laundering, and suggested that a date earlier than December could be disrupted by the “wheels coming off” on the prosecution side — an accusation that Mr. Summers rejected, calling for the timetable to be approached with “rigour”.
Document needed
“We are here to progress this…trust us to make sure our wheels don’t come off,” he told the court.
The prosecution will at the court’s request now have to provide the court and the defence with a detailed document outlining the case and the grounds on which they intended to base the extradition request.
A further hearing is set to take place on September 14 at 2 p.m. with the main case due to start on December 4 at 9.30 am.
Mr. Mallya is on bail till that date. He attended Thursday’s hearing though it was not required. ‘Let them provide the evidence they have. We will also provide ours,” he said outside the Westminster Magistrates Court ahead of the hearing.
