NEW DELHI: A Mumbai court on Monday issued a non-bailable warrant against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in connection with the alleged default of IDBI Bank loans worth over `900 crore.
The warrant against the business tycoon is open dated and was issued after the Enforcement Directorate, probing the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Mallya and his defunct company Kingfisher Airlines, approached the court and sought a warrant.
The Enforcement Directorate moved the court after Mallya failed to appear before the agency despite being issued summonses thrice. Mallya had also sought time till May to depose before the officials.
The court rejected the application moved by Kingfisher Airlines challenging the ED’s claim that `430 crore was siphoned off from the `950 crore loan taken from IDBI Bank and used to acquire properties abroad.
Special Court Judge P R Bhavke issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya after the agency gave details of his overseas accounts.
In the meantime, Kingfisher Airlines appealed to the court that it should wait for the submission of a detailed explanation on the utilisation of the proceeds of the IDBI Bank loan with supporting documentary evidence before passing any order on the application of the Enforcement Directorate seeking a non-bailable warrant.
Kingfisher Airlines also said that a collation of the detailed explanation the case was in its “advanced stage” and that it would be furnished before the agency in the next few days.
“Suffice it to say that no funds disbursed to Kingfisher Airlines by IDBI have been wrongly utilised or utilised for the purpose other than legitimate business purposes, expenses of Kingfisher Airlines or have been diverted in any manner by Mallya for his personal benefit or gain”, the Kingfisher Airlines application said.
Mallya is also facing legal proceedings for alleged default of loans worth over ` 9,000 crore from various banks. Mallya left India on March 2. A consortium of 13 banks has also moved the court seeking the freezing of his passport. The agency has also started probing the 17-bank consortium, led by SBI, which lent money to the grounded airlines, and later went to the Debt Recovery Tribunal for recovery of these dues. It has also sent official requests seeking details of the probe conducted by the income tax and service tax departments and the Serious Frauds Investigation Office against the airline in the past.