The Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached assets worth Rs. 6,630 crore in connection with a fresh case of alleged cheating registered earlier this month by the CBI against businessman Vijay Mallya and his two companies. The agency has so far attached assets worth over Rs. 8,000 crore.
The value of the assets attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is Rs. 4,234.84 crore. They include shares of United Spirits Limited, United Breweries Limited and Macdowell Holding Co. worth Rs. 3,635 crore held by Mr. Mallya, United Breweries Holding Ltd and his controlled entities.
Mandwa Farm House, worth Rs. 25 crore at Alibaug in Maharashtra, flats in Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru, worth Rs. 565 crore and fixed deposits of Mr. Mallya with HDFC for Rs. 10 crore have also been attached.
Based on a complaint filed by a State Bank of India-led consortium, the CBI had last month registered a fresh case of alleged cheating and conspiracy against Mr. Mallya and his companies Kingfisher Airlines and UBHL. The complaint alleged that the accused persons cheated the bank of more than Rs. 6,027 crore.
The amount was loaned to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines on personal and corporate guarantees of Mr. Mallya and UBHL, in addition to collateral securities of the Kingfisher Airlines’ brand and its assets.
“On their request, the loans were recast in December 2010 and the total outstanding was finalised as Rs. 5575.72 crore, subject to regular debt serving and adherence to agreed repayment schedules. However they failed to repay as the agreement and did not even honour the guarantees executed by them,” said an ED official.
