A special court in Mumbai issued a non-bailable warrant against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya in connection with a Rs 180-crore loan default case involving Indian Overseas Bank. The warrant was issued on June 29 by special CBI court judge SP Naik Nimbalkar. Detailed orders were made public only on Monday.
While considering issuance of other non-bailable warrants against the 68-year-old businessman and that he was declared a 'fugitive', the court said, this is a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW against him to secure his presence," The court said.
The investigating agency, CBI, has accused the former promoter of Kingfisher Airlines of causing an alleged wrongful loss of more than Rs 180 crore to the public sector bank by deliberately failing to pay due amounts. He is presently living in London. The crisis-hit liquor tycoon has already been declared a fugitive economic offender in another case of money laundering registered by the ED. Extradition proceedings are underway by India against him.
This warrant is in connection with the cheating case, which the CBI had filed against the columnist and others, alleging misappropriation of loans taken by then-operational Kingfisher Airlines from IOB during the period 2007-2012. The credit facilities were sanctioned for the now-defunct airline in lieu of an agreement it entered into with the bank, alleges the central agency in a recent chargesheet filed in the court.
The Reserve Bank of India had, in August 2010, directed the complainant bank, State Bank of India, to consider the restructuring of existing credit facilities of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd as a one-time measure for the Aviation Sector. Based on this directive, the lenders, including IOB, restructured their loans to KAL through a Master Debt Recast Agreement signed by KAL and a consortium of 18 banks.
It is in the matter of allegations about false promises and also depriving the loans for other than intended purposes, states CBI. Chargesheet means willful default on the repayment obligations by the accused, causing wrongful loss of Rs 141.91 crore on account of loan defaults and also Rs 38.30 crore from conversion of loans into shares.
The CBI court took cognizance of the chargesheet and issued summonses against Mallya and five other accused. However, the CBI contended and prayed for issuance of an NBW against Mallya, saying he is a fugitive and absconder. The CBI's plea mentioned multiple instances where NBWs and summonses had been issued against Mallya, who remains in England, continuing to evade the law of the land.
It said, acknowledging the submission of CBI, that Mallya has absconded, has been declared a fugitive and there are pending NBWs against him in other cases and, hence, issuing summonses would serve no purpose. "This is a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW against accused Mallya for securing his presence," the court observed.
The special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act declared him in January 2019 as a Fugitive Economic Offender. Mallya was accused of multiple loan defaults and money laundering and fled India in March 2016.
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