MUMBAI: A non-bailable warrant was issued against liquor baron Vijay Mallya here on Wednesday by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.
Mallya, former chief financial officer of Kingfisher Airlines A Raghunathan, former deputy MD of IDBI bank OV Bundellu, former ED SKV Srinivasan, former MD BK Batra and a few other officials of the bank were among the nine accused who were named in the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in a money-laundering case. The court issued non-bailable warrant against all of them on Wednesday.
Loan transaction of over Rs 950 crore between the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines and the IDBI bank was in contravention of established industry practices, the agency said. The allocation of loan shows the connivance between Mallya and the bank officials. The loan was sanctioned and disbursed despite weak financials, negative net worth, negative debt to equity ratio and low credit rating of the borrower company, ED had said in the chargesheet.
The chargesheet details the proceeds of the crime and is seen as a move to make India’s case stronger for Mallya’s extradition.The chargesheet also revealed that Rs 417 crore of the loan amount was remitted outside the country under the pretext of lease rental payment and other miscellaneous payments.