Attachment of Vijay Mallya assets: ED makes Rs 1,700-crore fresh seizures

The total attachment in the case has now shot up to nearly Rs 10,000 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has on Friday attached Rs 1,700 crore worth of personal shares of UB Group chief Vijay Mallya and his associate firms, in connection with the money laundering case involving the beleaguered liquor baron.
 
The shares include pledged shares of Rs 850 crore in United Breweries (UB), Rs 400 crore in United Spirits Ltd (USL) and Rs 24 crore in United Breweries ( Holding) Limited.
 
The ED move came after the special court on Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) declared him a proclaimed offender and directed the directorate to seize the shares of Mallya and his subsidiary firms in the companies mentioned above.

 

So far, the directorate had attached assets worth Rs 6,630 crore and Rs 1,441 crore of Mallya and his associates, respectively. These include shares, a farmhouse, flats and fixed deposits. The total value of attachments in the case has now shot up to nearly Rs 10,000 crore.
 
Confirming the development, a senior ED official said: “This is a fresh attachment after he was on Thursday declared a proclaimed offender under the anti-money laundering Act.
 
United Breweries, the beverage company that produces Kingfisher beer, the country’s largest beer brand, is now 42.22 per cent owned by Dutch beverage maker Heineken.

 
Mallya's 3.72 per cent stake in United Spirits is valued at Rs 1,250 crore, of which nearly half had been pledged. His 52 per cent shareholding in United Breweries (Holdings) is worth Rs 110 crore, of which 37 per cent had been pledged.
 
Also, some of UBHL shares had been used as securities against loans availed from HDFC Bank and YES Bank.