India, UK discuss prioritising extradition requests

India and the United Kingdom on Monday discussed the need for expediting action under mutual legal assistance treaty and prioritisation of extradition requests relating to fugitives.

A number of fugitives from India including former Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya, diamantaire Nirav Modi and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari besides separatists from Punjab and wanted terrorist sympathisers are based in the United Kingdom and their extradition is being pursued by agencies.

The issue came up for discussion during the visit of a high-level delegation from the United Kingdom that included its candidate for the post of Interpol Secretary General Stephen Kavanagh to the CBI Headquarters on Monday.

During the visit, the CBI Director Praveen Sood and other senior agency officials held detailed discussions with Kavanagh about enhancing operational collaboration with the UK.

Both sides discussed a host of issues including criminal intelligence sharing and combating financial crimes, organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and other transnational threats, a statement from the CBI Spokesperson said.

They look forward to future interactions and collaborative initiatives to deepen cooperation, it said.

The delegation also included Acting High Commissioner of the UK to India Christina Scott, UK National Crime Agency representative Robert Holness and Sorrel Evans from the UK Home Office, a statement from the CBI said.

The officials discussed enhancing intelligence sharing and supporting each other's efforts to combat financial crimes, tackling organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and other transnational threats.

"Both sides shared commitment to addressing global crime threats in a coordinated and effective manner including via Interpol channels," the agency said.

The CBI said that the visit marks a significant step towards strengthening international cooperation between the UK and India in combating transnational crime.

"It was reiterated to strengthen bilateral ties and work closely together to address common security challenges effectively including the need for expediting mutual legal assistance and prioritisation of extradition requests relating to fugitives," the agency statement said.

"Stephen Kavanagh while interacting with senior officers of CBI thanked CBI for the valued partnership and cooperative spirit and reiterated their commitment to enhance collaboration.

"Praveen Sood welcomed Stephen Kavanagh and thanked him for his visit," the Spokesperson said.