ED summons Mallya in money-laundering case on March 18

Tightening its noose around former liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned him to appear before the agency next Friday (March 18) for questioning in the ongoing probe into a money-laundering case, officials here said.

The development comes five days after the ED Mumbai registered a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act last Monday and a day after it summoned former top officials of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) and the IDBI to whom it owes around Rs.900 crore.

However, it was not immediately clear when Mallya -- who is currently abroad -- will return to India and respond to the ED summons.

Earlier Friday, the ED quizzed the ex-KFA chief financial officer A. Raghunathan to shed light on the various financial transactions of the KFA and related matters.

Besides Raghunathan, the ED has also summoned former IDBI chairman-cum-managing director Yogesh Aggarwal and other senior executives of the airline and the bank for questioning on the advances made to KFA and other connected aspects.