ED seeks 'fugitive' tag for Vijay Mallya under new ordinance

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed an application before a special Mumbai court for declaring liquor baron Vijay Mallya as a fugitive economic offender.

In this regard, an application was filed in a special Mumbai court under the newly-promulgated Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance.

The ED also sought orders for confiscating properties worth Rs. 12,500.

Two separate Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) were registered by ED under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 for an investigation into the offense of Money Laundering, against Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines (KAL), United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) and others.

The judge took cognizance of both the cases and has issued a fresh non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Mallya in both the cases.

The investigation revealed a criminal conspiracy since inception for obtaining and sanctioning of bank loan to KAL in gross violations of established and prescribed procedures with no intention for repayment of a loan.

Earlier this month, the ED filed a fresh chargesheet against Mallya and United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) in connection with the same.

The probe agency filed a prosecution complaint before a special Mumbai court under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In its chargesheet, the ED named Mallya, his company Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) and UBHL among others.

Mallya, 62, is facing a trial for the UK Court to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving a total amount of Rs 9,000 crore, as well as money laundering cases.

In April last year, Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant but was subsequently released on bail against a bond worth 650,000 pounds.

A month later, the Liquor Baron lost a lawsuit filed in London by a consortium of Indian banks seeking to collect the amount of Rs 10,000 crore amid allegations that he committed massive fraud.

A judge ruled that the consortium of lenders, including IDBI Bank, could impose an Indian court's decision against Mallya, who was found to have willfully defaulted on USD 1.4 billion in debt taken by his now-defunct airline Kingfisher.