London: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya’s legal troubles continue to mount as he is set to face bankruptcy proceedings in the UK High Court next year, brought by a consortium of Indian banks in their attempt to recoup unpaid debt worth nearly 1.145 billion pounds.
TLT LLP, the UK-based law firm which had won a landmark case for the 13 banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) earlier this year, confirmed on Monday that their bankruptcy petition against the 62-year-old businessman has been transferred to the insolvency list in London’s High Court of Justice for a hearing in the first half of 2019.
“We can confirm that we presented a bankruptcy petition against Dr Mallya on behalf of the banks on 11 September 2018,” said Paul Gair, partner at TLT.
In a ruling in May, a UK High Court judge had refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing Mallya’s assets and upheld an Indian court’s ruling that the consortium of 13 Indian banks were entitled to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.
Mallya, meanwhile, remains on bail after his extradition was recently ordered by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, an order which now awaits a sign-off by UK home secretary Sajid Javid.