MUMBAI:The CBI is unlikely to arrest liquor baron and director of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya anytime soon even as it carried out searches at his offices and residences in Mumbai, Goa and Bengaluru on Saturday in connection with his alleged default on a loan of over Rs 900 crore from IDBI Bank. The searches have gained significance in view of Mallya’s lenders taking possession of his palatial bungalow in Goa.
A CBI team first went to the airline’s office here on Saturday. It did not get any valuable papers as it has been taken over by a consortium of 17 banks, from which Mallya had procured loans of Rs 7,000 crore.
An officer said the agency will first summon Mallya for questioning over the alleged violation of norms in sanctioning of the loan. If CBI gets concrete evidence against him, Mallya will be taken into custody.
The CBI has registered a case against Mallya in his capacity as director of Kingfisher Airlines, the company’s CFO A Raghunathan and some IDBI Bank officials. Kingfisher Airlines was grounded in October 2012.