Vijay Mallya declared 'proclaimed offender' in money laundering case

Business tycoon Vijay Mallya was on Tuesday declared a proclaimed offender by a special court in Mumbai in a money laundering case. A petition was filed by the Enforcement Directorate or ED in this regard, saying Vijay Mallya ignored a series of orders to return to India to face investigations.

As per law, if a person is named a proclaimed offender by a court, he needs to appear at a specified place and time not less than 30 days from the date of the order.

"It's an effective step towards securing the presence of Mallya and also one more chance to Mallya to come clean before the court in next 30 days. Failing which all his properties will be attached and sold by government," said lawyer Nitin Venegaonkar, representing the ED.

Two days ago, Mallya had said in a statement that the investigation against him is "heavily biased". Denying all charges against him, he also said that he was being held guilty without trail.