Vijay Mallya seeks time till early April to appear before ED

UB group's former chairman Vijay Mallya on Thursday has apparently sought time till April for making a personal appearance before the Enforcement Directorate.

With this move, he has made it clear that he will not be present before the anti-money laundering agency for summons issued by it in the 'consortium of bank' loan default case.

Officials told TOI that the 'businessman' has informed ED's investigating officer that he would not be able to keep tomorrow's date and has sought time till April to make an appearance.

Post this, the agency officials are apparently finding alternate options and studying the reply and reasons cited by Mallya in his communications. ED still has to decide whether to grant his request or not.

The Enforcement Directorate had previously issued summons to Mallya for a personal appearance on 18 March under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).