India seeks Britain’s cooperation

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his British counterpart Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here on Saturday and sought Britain’s cooperation for the return of Indian economic offenders.

“PM @narendramodi meets UK PM @theresa_may on sidelines of #G20. Aks for UK’s cooprn for return of escaped Indian economic offenders,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.

This is an apparent reference to liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi who are in Britain with cases of financial fraud against them back in India.

Mallya’s now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes around Rs90 billion (Dh5.11 billion) to a consortium of 17 Indian banks. The loan default cases are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The ED is pursuing 17 cases of alleged financial impropriety against Modi and other former office-bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket In India-Indian Premier League (BCCI-IPL) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The amount involved is said to be a whopping Rs22 billion.

Modi left India in 2010 following alleged financial irregularities in the cash-rich Indian Premier League’s 2009 season.

source: GULF NEWS