A special court in Mumbai has issued a non-bailable warrant against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya. The non-bailable warrant is related to the case of non-payment of Rs 180 crore loan from Indian Overseas Bank against Vijay Mallya. The court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya on June 29, but the order became available on Monday.
What did the CBI say?
After hearing the arguments of the CBI and based on Vijay Mallya's fugitive status, the court said that 'this case is very suitable for issuing a non-bailable warrant against Mallya. So that his presence in the court can be ensured. During the hearing in the court, the CBI said that the investigation has revealed that Vijay Mallya, the promoter of the bankrupt airline Kingfisher, deliberately did not repay a loan of Rs 180 crore taken from a government bank. Vijay Mallya has already been declared a fugitive in the money laundering case being investigated by the ED. He is currently in London and the Government of India is trying to extradite him from the British government.
What is the allegation against Mallya?
According to the chargesheet, Vijay Mallya had taken a loan of Rs 180 crore from Indian Overseas Bank for the then operational Kingfisher Airlines between 2007 and 2012. The investigating agency says that in 2010, the Reserve Bank of India directed SBI Bank to consider Kingfisher Airlines' proposal for a lump sum amount for the aviation sector. After which a consortium of 18 banks including Indian Overseas Bank entered into an MDR agreement with Kingfisher Airlines. It is alleged that Kingfisher promoter Vijay Mallya deliberately defaulted on repayment obligations with dishonest intent. This caused a loss of Rs 141.91 crore to the bank and a loss of Rs 38.30 crore due to conversion of debt into equity. It is worth noting that Vijay Mallya left India in 2016 and in 2019 Mallya has been accused of not repaying the loan and money laundering.