ED summons Vijay Mallya in loan default case, asks him to appear on March 18

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued summons to liquor baron Vijay Mallya over the IDBI loan fraud case. The ED has asked all 17 banks to produce all loan-related documents of the case before it.

 

The enforcement directorate has asked Mallya to appear before it on March 18. As per sources, if Mallya fails to appear before the ED then a non bailable warrant could be issued against him.

The sources said Mallya has also been asked to furnish documents related to his personal finances.

Earlier in the day, Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of long-grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines, A Raghunathan appeared before the ED here for questioning in connection with its money laundering probe in the alleged default of over Rs 900 crore loan from IDBI bank.

The ED had issued summons to over half a dozen officials of the IDBI bank and Vijay Mallya-owned KFA under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) wherein all the individuals have been asked to submit details about their personal finances and Income Tax Returns (ITRs) of last five years to the investigators.

 

Apart from Raghunathan, summons have also been issued to former Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, Yogesh Agarwal and other senior executive members and officials of both the organisations.

Yesterday, officials had indicated that the agency will question some important functionaries of the bank and the airlines before they decide on issuing summons to the main player and liquor baron Mallya in the case.

 

The ED recently registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on a CBI FIR registered last year. The agency is also investigating the overall financial structure of Kingfisher Airlines and if any possible kick backs were made.

The ED has pressed charges under various sections of the PMLA against Mallya and others named in the CBI complaint.

The CBI had booked Mallya, director of Kingfisher Airlines, the company, Raghunathan and unknown officials of IDBI Bank in its FIR alleging that the loan was sanctioned in violation of norms regarding credit limits.

 

The ED is looking into the "proceeds of crime" that would have been generated using the slush funds of the alleged loan fraud and it is also probing if some of this amount was sent abroad illegally, they said.

The Attorney General had two days ago informed the Supreme Court that Mallya has left the country a week ago.

With Agency Inputs