A special court in Mumbai has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to bring back embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya to the country to face money laundering probe.<br/> <br/>The special court, which is entrusted with hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, had last week approved the Enforcement Directorate's request to issue an order against Mallya under the India-UK treaty.<br/> <br/>ED officials said the court approved their request on the basis of the agency's investigation and attachment of assets in the criminal case against Mallya. He and his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) are alleged to have defrauded IDBI Bank to the tune of about Rs 900 crore.<br/> <br/>The ED, they said, has now sent the court-issued request to the Union Home Ministry for further execution of the order in cooperation with its counterparts in the United Kingdom. The CBI too is probing this alleged loan default case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. The ED had registered a criminal case in this deal last year under the provisions of the PMLA, based on a CBI FIR.