Vijay Mallya seeks funds for 'living expenses' from UK Court from France property sale

Vijay Mallya filed an urgent application before the UK court requesting access to millions of pounds to pay for his living expenses as well as his legal fees from the funds held by Court Funds Office. The UK court declined this request, but an amount of 240,000 pounds plus VAT was permitted to be released to cover the legal expenses for next week's hearing. This comes as Vijay Mallya's France property worth 1.6 Million Euros was seized by the  French Authority upon the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

During the hearing on Friday, Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Robert Schaffer said, "In essence, I will adjourn this hearing subject to one caveat that the fees for the hearing next week are covered."

"It is absurd to refuse"

After his France property was seized, Mallya filed a request seeking money held by the Court Funds Office which holds about 1.5 million pounds obtained from the sale of the former Kingfisher owner's France property Le Grand Jardin. The bankruptcy proceedings against Vijay Mallya which was initiated by State Bank of India led a consortium of Indian banks. During the hearing, Mallya's lawyers argued that his client requires access to the large amount of funds held by the UK Court as he does not have any other source of income. Vijay Mallya's counsel Philip Marshall further argued that it is 'absurd' to refuse access to the funds while threatening that in the upcoming important hearing the fugitive businessman may not have any legal representation without the money.

Read | Enforcement Directorate Seizes Vijay Mallya’s Assets In France Worth 1.6 Million Euros

"With ongoing proceedings in India and the UK, Dr Mallya cannot wait for something to live on and to cover his legal expenses. With substantial sums outstanding [to lawyers] and no other source of income, it is absurd to refuse," said Vijay Mallya's lawyer. 

"That would put him at a very serious disadvantage and be a denial of justice," he added. 

Read | Mallya Can Be Extradited To India After "confidential Legal Issue" Is Resolved In UK: MEA

On the other hand, SBI and other bank's counsel Barrister Marcia Shekerdemian accused Vijay Mally of attempting to 'jump the queue' before the next weeks substantive hearing in the bankruptcy in order to gain access to the funds. "It is a substantial portion of his admitted UK assets and even on a limited urgency basis, cannot be approved," argued Shekerdemian.

Mallya's France Property seized 

During the probe, the ED found out that the France property owned by Vijya Mallya was brought with a large amount of money which was siphoned from the bank account of the fugitive businessman's Kingfisher Airlines. Following this a request, a made to the concerned French Authority to seize the property as per the probe conducted by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). On Friday, the French Authority seized the property which was valued at 1.6 million Euros. 

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"On the request of Directorate of Enforcement (ED), a property of Vijay Mallya located at 32 Avenue FOCH, France has been seized by the French Authority. The value of the seized asset in France is 1.6 Million Euros (approx. Rs 14 crores). Investigations conducted under PMLA revealed that a large amount was remitted abroad from the bank account of M/s. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAL)," the ED said in an official statement. 

Read | 'Vijay Mallya Can't Be Extradited Until Completion Of Secret Proceedings In UK': MEA

(With inputs from PTI)