A special court in Mumbai has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya in a ₹180-crore loan default case linked to Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). The NBW was issued against Mr. Mallya on June 29 by special CBI court judge S.P. Naik Nimbalkar, and a detailed order was made available on July 1. The court noted that considering the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) submission and Mallya’s status as a “fugitive,” “this is a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW against him to secure his presence”.
Allegations and Background
The CBI, probing the case, has claimed that the promoter of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines caused a wrongful loss of more than ₹180 crore to the government-run bank by “wilfully” defaulting in payments. This warrant is related to a cheating case registered by the CBI for the alleged diversion of loans availed by the then-operational Kingfisher Airlines from IOB between 2007 and 2012. The allegations in the case pertain to false promises, diversion of loans for purposes other than it was availed, and “wilful” default on the repayment obligations under the loans, causing a wrongful loss of ₹141.91 crore on the account of default on loans. Additionally, an additional wrongful loss of ₹38.30 crores was caused on the account of the conversion of loans to shares.
Legal Proceedings
Taking cognizance of the charge-sheet, the CBI court issued process (summons) against Mr. Mallya and five other accused in the case. However, the probe agency pressed for the issuance of an NBW against Mr. Mallya, citing that “the accused is a fugitive and an absconder.” The court, considering the CBI submission, observed that Mr. Mallya has absconded, declared a fugitive, and NBWs are pending for execution against him in other cases. Therefore, it deemed it a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW against accused Mallya for securing his presence.
Conclusion
Vijay Mallya, accused of defaulting on multiple loan repayments and money laundering, left India in March 2016. He has already been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in a money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).