Vijay Mallya Extradition: UK Court to review video of Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail as case reaches last stage

Update at 6:48 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Busts Vijay Mallya's Claim About Alleged Meeting With Him And Says, "There Is No Question Of My Having Ever Given Him An Appointment To Meet Me"

Update at 6:42 pm: “Very Impressive", Says Vijay Mallya After Seeing Video Of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail Where He May Be Lodged

Update at 6:40 pm: "I Met The Finance Minister Before I Left", Claims Vijay Mallya During Recess In His UK Extradition Hearing

Update at 7:10 pm: Mallya's lawyer said that there is a contradiction in prosecution case is that banks knew the truth but granted him the loans anyway

Update at 7:01 pm: CPS says overwhelming evidence Mallya had no intention of repaying loans.

Update at 6:56 pm: CPS says money was diverted to motor racing and corporate jet rather than repaying loans

Update at 6:46 pm: When KFA applied to Loan from IDBI, the company said that it was intended to pay outstanding creditors but instead it was used for general KFA purposes.

Update at 6:36 pm: Hearing starts and CPS is now taking the judge through more Kingfisher Airlines finances. 

Update at 5:33 pm: Vijay Mallya steps out of court. Refuses to comment on the case; talks about Cricket instead

Update at 5:29 pm: Court rises. To resume again at 2 pm UK time

Update at 5:20 pm: CPS say everyone agrees aircraft engines should not have been offered as securities because if KFA defaulted the company would not have had access to the engines, under the terms of their aircraft leases, so this security that was offered to the bank had no real value

Update at 4:58 pm: CPS on profitability issue: 

Bank was told KFA expects to post better results later in 2014, peppered throughout appraisal documents was expectation things were on the turn and by 2012 KFA would be profitable. True position was very different. Internal emails show an actual loss for 2010 will exceed the projections. Cumulative losses would need a thousand crore added to them, it would take 5 or 10 years to repay cumulative loans and hard to keep investor confidence.

Update at 4:57 pm: Vijay Mallya's Lawyer says they need to visit the prison. Adds that "someone has done a hasty very clean-up job before the video was shot. Fresh paint, looks like a new toilet".

Update at 4:48 pm:  Vijay Mallya Lawyer says that photo was falsified with artificial lighting. Jail video clearly shows "the gloom that settles on this building. It is encased in what is effectively a steel oven. Conditions aren't humane"

Update at 4:48 pm: Vijay Mallya's lawyer criticises Mr. Ashansa from CBI for reportedly threatening banks if they didn't file charges against Vijay Mallya

Update at 4:46 pm: Airbus repaid $5m to Vijay Mallya because he lent them the money in first place. It was his money. The government didn't supply documents that showed this, we did: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 4:35 pm: No false statements were made. All airlines suffered losses in 2009 after the world economic downturn. Kingfisher Airlines was optimistic at the start of the year but ended up having to borrow: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 4:30 pm: There is a lack of substance in the prosecution's case. Their arguments are bizarre and often relies on witnesses who weren't there. Loans were not dishonestly applied: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 3:56 pm: No evidence false information about a security was given to the bank: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 3:53 pm: Mallya lawyer says It should have been obvious that Kingfisher planes were leased over a long period (10+) years and it would not be possible to mortgage the planes to someone else short-term

Update at 3:39 pm: Vijay Mallya's lawyer makes a cutting remark about Crown Prosecution Service barrister's numbers, says there's a reason why CPS barrister "didn't have a career as a banker"

Update at 3:35 pm: Evidence of overvaluation is Zero: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 3:35 pm: Kingfisher Airlines brand was not overvalued and he didn't hide any values from people: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 3:19 pm: Kingfisher Airlines did not make any specific representation about securities but it supplied the IDBI with SBI's appraisal notice. The prosecution has that document but chooses not to put it in the bundle for the judge to see: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 3:11 pm: The suggestion that there was a secret pocket of knowledge within kingfisher that was not revealed to IDBI is utterly unfounded: Claire Montgomery Queen’s Counsel (QC) fighting against the Indian government

Update at 3:08 pm: Prosecution says only Vijay Mallya knew this and didn't tell bank. Vijay Mallya's lawyer argues that he told bank the actual loss of 991 crore, which was 60 more than the forecasts he discussed with advisers

Update at 2:58 pm: Kingfisher emails with consultancy firm Accenture from 2009 show net loss of 931 crores for that year, net worth reduced to 3,500 crores: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 2:58 pm: Vijay Mallya's lawyer says the Indian Government's case is "bizarre" and Kingfishers competitors were also in difficult financial straits because of world economic downturn

Update at 2:55 pm: Vijay Mallya's lawyer argues his conduct would not count as criminal in the United Kingdom and calls it "Simple and honest commercial failure"

Update at 2:54 pm: Only evidence that reflects badly on Vijay Mallya was after 2013 when the airline collapsed and there was "legal maneuverings", says Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 2:52 pm: Kingfisher loan was taken out with a view to the proper running of the airline and secure it as a viable and economically successful entity rather than running it into the ground: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 2:50 pm: Full and accurate information about the falling profitability of Kingfisher was given. Bank loans were used as per their conditions: Vijay Mallya's lawyer

Update at 2:36 pm: Mallya's lawyer says it looks like jail was specially painted to make it look brighter inside (It is unlikely that the video will be played in open Court)

Update at 2:36 pm: As the Judge arrives Vijay Mallya gives his name and date of birth. The judge has seen Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail video 3 times

Update at 2:36 pm: Here's a list of facilities that Vijay Mallya will be able to avail at Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail

• Sunlight
• Tv
• Bed 
• Toilet 
• Library 
• Courtyard

Update at 2:30 pm: We have a strong case . We are confident: CBI ED team sources

Update at 2:20 pm: Obviously, that is why a settlement offer has been made. The hearing is on 18th September: Vijay Mallya (Outside Westminster Magistrates Court when asked if he has convinced the Court he has the means to pay what he said he will)

Update at 2:15 pm: CBI team enters UK court 

Update at 2:00 pm: Vijay Mallya arrives at London court for final hearing

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Vijay Mallya, facing extradition trial in money laundering case worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore, will appear in the Westminster Magistrates Court for a hearing in his high-profile extradition case on Wednesday. The hearing will begin at 12:30 PM and the judge is expected to review a video of the Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail where Vijay Mallya would be lodged if he is deported to India. The video that was submitted by the Indian government will be played at what is expected to be the final hearing in the extradition case. 

At the previous hearing in July in the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in, Judge Emma Arbuthnot had asked the Indian authorities to submit a “step by step video” of the Barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail for “the avoidance of doubt” over the availability of natural light in the cell where the businessman is expected to be detained pre-trial, during trial and in the event he is convicted by the Indian courts.

“I would like a video of Barrack 12, to see where the windows are shot maybe at mid-day with no artificial lighting,” the judge said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, had agreed to the request and the video has since been submitted to the court. Vijay Mallya’s defence team had demanded an inspection of the jail cell to ensure it meets the UK’s human rights obligations related to extradition proceedings.

The CPS stressed that the Indian government had provided adequate material which rendered the need for an inspection unnecessary, leading to the demand for a video recording to be reviewed by the court.

The judge is also expected to hear the final closing arguments in the case, after which a timeline for her ruling is likely to become clearer.

The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mr. Mallya.

It also seeks to prove there are no “bars to extradition” and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines’ alleged default of over ₹9,000 crores in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.

The CPS has argued that the evidence they have presented establishes “dishonesty” on the part of the businessman and that there are no bars to him being extradited from the UK to face Indian courts.

Mallya’s defence team has deposed a series of expert witnesses to claim he had no “fraudulent” intentions and that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India.

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Earlier, Republic TV had accessed the Vijay Mallya's emails to KFA employees. The never seen before mail trail proved that Vijay Mallya was seeking money laundering and that he used the loan money to fund IPL and F1 teams.

Republic TV also learnt that based on these emails, the CBI and the ED told the UK court that money has been laundered to the Formula 1 team and the mail trails proved the same. The emails proved that Kingfisher Airlines was using the sponsorship that they gave to F1 in the United Kingdom as a facade.

In 2009, Kingfisher gave sponsorship to Formula One and these emails show that the sponsorship was inflated and that bank-money was used to squander away the taxpayers’ money. The emails show that money was being transferred from Axis bank in India to HSBC bank in the UK. The mail says that the money was being transferred for ‘operational expenses’ for KFA’s work in the London office to Kingfisher Airlines. However, the amount was actually transferred to the F1.

One of the emails shows the date of the transaction from Axis Bank India as for December 21, 2009, and the amount received by the HSBC bank as USD 200,000. However, the next column of the mail shows the same amount being remitted to the F1 team. Furthermore, it was not a one of affair as money was remitted to the F1 in 2010, 2011 and also in 2012. None of these amounts were transferred to Kingfisher airlines for operational work as the money was only transferred to Formula 1.