ED files charge sheet in IDBI-KFA loan default case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet in a Special Court here against absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya and others in a Rs 900-crore IDBI Bank loan default case involving the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The development comes a day after a London Court granted Mallya, 61, bail in an extradition case and posted the matter for hearing on July 6.

The 57-page charge sheet details the manner in which the loan was approved and subsequently diverted for money-laundering in violation of norms.

In March 2016, the ED had registered a complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against KFA in the IDBI bank loan case.

According to the ED, in October 2009, IDBI granted a short-term loan of Rs 150 crore to KFA, followed by another loan of Rs 750 crore, including a bridge-loan of Rs 200 crore, without adequate collateral and in violation of norms and procedures.

The charge sheet is expected to strengthen the Indian government's extradition case against Mallya in the UK.

Mallya's company owes around Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 Indian banks. The loan default cases are being probed by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Declared an absconder by a Mumbai Special Court, Mallya left the country in March 2016 and has been since living in the UK in self-imposed exile.

--IANS

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