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Mumbai: Former liquor baron Vijay Mallya continues to evade the legal process in India, and the recovery of debts by the banks does not absolve him of the money laundering charges, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted to the Bombay High Court.

The central agency on September 8 filed its affidavit in response to a petition filed by Mallya in 2020 seeking a closure of the criminal cases lodged against him. His dispute with the banks was settled after the debts were recovered, he had contended.

The ED said movable and immovable properties worth Rs 14,131.6 crore were handed over to the SBI-led consortium, but this does not cancel or lead to the dropping of the money laundering charges against Mallya.

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He left India in March 2016 and did not appear before the investigating authority despite repeated summons, the agency said in its affidavit, noting that a non-bailable warrant was also issued against him.

Proclaimed offender since Nov 2016

In November 2016, the high-profile businessman was declared a proclaimed offender.

“Applicant (Mallya) continues to evade the process of law and has not returned to India or submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the competent criminal court,” the agency said.

It added that despite enquiries from the High Court as to whether he would return to India and submit himself to the court of law here, Mallya remained elusive in his replies.

“The criminal prosecution launched pursuant to the investigation under the PMLA is not rendered infructuous merely because the claimant banks have subsequently recovered substantial amounts from the assets restored to them,” the affidavit said.

Restoration of assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was a statutory mechanism for legitimate claimants to recover their losses, the ED said.

Mallya is accused of money laundering and misappropriation of at least Rs 3,500 crore out of Rs 9,000 crore bank loans granted to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The ED had provisionally attached his properties in 2016.

In 2019, a special court permitted SBI and other lender banks to use Mallya’s attached movable properties for debt recovery. Assets included United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) shares.