Business tycoon Vijay Mallya declared fugitive economic offender, first person to have the tag

New Delhi : A special court on Saturday declared Vijay Mallya a ‘fugitive economic offender’. He has become the first person to be hit by a new law that empowers the government to seize properties of individuals who flee the country to escape prosecution.

The decision comes as the second setback for Vijay Mallya in last one month. In December, a UK court had allowed his extradition to India to face trial in fraud and money laundering case.

Indian government had been trying for long to nab him in connection with huge loans taken for his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines from a consortium of 12 banks led by the State Bank of India.

Vijay Mallya's had filed a petition to remove his name as a fugitive economic offender, saying that he is not involved in the scheduled offence of money laundering.

Mallya fled India in March 2016 even as a debt court in Bengaluru was set to act against him for defaulting on loans issued by several banks led by the state-owned State Bank of India.