The extradition of business tycoon Vijay Mallya – who is wanted in India for defaulting on bank loans worth crores of rupees – from Britain, is getting delayed due to a “confidential legal issue”. The Government of India is constantly following up with the British authorities to seek updates on the matter, the foreign ministry has said.

“We have been told that there is a confidential legal issue which needs addressing, following which Vijay Mallya can be extradited to India. No particular timeline has been indicated to us and we continue to take up this issue with the UK authorities,” ANI quoted Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as saying.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya is accused of defaulting on bank loans totalling Rs 9,000 crore. He moved to the UK in March 2016, and India has since been struggling to process his extradition.

One must note that Mallya – “The King of Good Times” – has repeatedly denied the charges and also offered to pay back 100 percent of the principal amount owed to the banks several times. However, his offer has been turned down by the Indian authorities every time.