ED to seek help of RBI, Sebi

ED on Friday said it would seek the help of the RBI and Sebi to ensure that Mallya group of companies are not able to create third-party rights to dispose of its stakes

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it would seek the help of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to ensure that Mallya group of companies are not able to create third-party rights to dispose of its stakes. An ED official said this while stating the agency was coordinating with other agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation and Sebi in its money laundering probe against beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya in the over Rs 900 crore IDBI loan fraud case. A senior official said, “We are investigating the conditions under which the loans were given to Mallya's firms.”

The official also said though the ED has issued fresh summons to Mallya to appear before them on April 2 it is yet to obtain a positive confirmation from the businessman in this regard.

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"Mallya has also not given any specific reasons for not appearing today though he said he had a business plan this month (March) which is why he left the country. He had also promised to cooperate with the agency," he said.

The official also said that they are examining every aspect of Kingfisher Airlines loans besides the current case of IDBI loan probe and are looking into the entire gamut of transactions to understand everybody's role.

Talking about the money laundering case against former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, the official the agency not getting his custody yesterday from the court was not a setback.

"We have a lot of evidence in the case and we will move forward," the official added.

Bhujbal is in judicial custody till March 31.