London: Foreign Secretary Harshavardhana Shringala met British Home Minister Priti Patel here and former head of Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya and diamond trader Nirav Modi. Modi) was demanded to be extradited to India. On the last leg of his three-nation tour of Europe, Sringala arrived in London where he interacted with a number of British ministers and officials.
Patel and his meeting with Lord Tariq Ahmed, External Affairs Minister for South Asian Affairs, also raised the issue of extradition of economic fugitives to confront the Indian justice system. “We underlined our interest in the speedy extradition of Vijay Mallya, who is an economic criminal and whose extradition process has been completed in the UK. We would like him to return to India as soon as possible. ” “Even Nirav Modi (extradition), I raised this issue with Lord Ahmed and the Home Minister and both of them focused on our priorities and sentiments,” he said.
Mallya is now wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering filed by the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines in connection with borrowing from Indian banks. British courts have ordered his extradition to India. He is currently out on bail and is going through a ‘confidential legal’ issue before Patel can consider signing his extradition order. Nirav Modi, on the other hand, is currently in London’s Wandsworth Jail and is fighting his extradition in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He is accused in a case of fraud and money laundering related to Punjab National Bank.
After visiting Paris and Berlin, Shringala arrived in London on Tuesday and held meetings on a variety of issues, including India-UK vaccine partnership and climate change following the corona virus epidemic. He also put forward India’s views on the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region in these meetings. On the background of the UK’s secession from the EU, the Foreign Secretary said that India-UK bilateral relations have paved the way for a renewed relationship with the UK and the EU.
