Vijay Mallya Diverted Most Of Rs 6,000 Crore Loan To Shell Companies, Fresh Charge Sheet To Be Filed

Fresh investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that businessman Vijay Mallya diverted most of the Rs 6,000 crore he borrowed from a State Bank of India-led consortiumto shell companies.

As per a report in The Economic Times, funds were allegedly diverted to shell companies in half a dozen countries including the United States of America, the United Kingdom (UK), France and Ireland.

The report also states that the agencies will soon file a fresh charge sheet based on these findings against the businessman.

While the first charge sheet was filed earlier this year for IDBI Bank’s Rs 900-crore loan fraud, and this new case will probably help expedite Mallya’s extradition from the UK.

“We are in the process of filing a second prosecution complaint. Our investigation in the matter has revealed that loans disbursed by banks to Kingfisher Airlines were diverted by Mallya and his associates to shell companies. We have sent letters rogatory and are expecting replies from the US, the UK, France and Ireland soon,” Economic Times quoted a senior official aware of the development.

"As matters are subjudice, I cannot comment in detail, but I reject all these wild, baseless and deliberately fabricated allegations," the report quotes Mallya as saying.

The new money-laundering case covers the loan of about Rs 6,027 crore from over a dozen banks led by SBI taken between 2005 and 2010 by the Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines. The loan amount along with interest now stands at over Rs 9,000 crore and a first information report (FIR) for non-payment and criminal conspiracy was filed last year.