ED files fresh chargesheet against Vijay Mallya

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a fresh chargesheet against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is currently in London.

With this charge sheet (also known as the prosecution complaint), the central probe agency will immediately seek from a court permission to "confiscate" more than Rs. 9,000 crore worth assets of the beleaguered businessman and his firms under the recently promulgated Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance.

The ED last year had filed its first charge sheet against Mallya, now in London, in the IDBI bank-Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) alleged bank loan fraud case.

The ED has based its investigation in this instance after taking cognisance of a CBI complaint and the charge sheet will be filed before a special court in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It was alleged that SBI and its consortium banks had advanced various credit facilities to KFA Limited during the period between 2005 and 2010.

During 2009-10, the company failed to meet its repayment commitments to the bank from whom it had availed credit facilities and the airlines did not keep its account with the consortium banks regular which became NPA (non-performing asset), the CBI complaint had stated.

The consortium banks, therefore, recalled credit facilities and also invoked corporate guarantee of UBHL (United Breweries Holdings Limited) and Mr Mallya's personal guarantee, it had alleged.

It was alleged that there was a conspiracy among group companies promoter and unknown others to cheat the lenders, the CBI had said.

The agency, empowered by the Union government to enact the new fugitive ordinance in the country, will seek an official declaration to categorise Mallya as a "fugitive" on the basis of the cognisance of this prosecution complaint (charge sheet).

Mallya is contesting these charges in London as part of India's efforts to extradite him from there and face the legal system here in connection with these charges.