Mallya is an accused in alleged over Rs 900 crore IDBI extension Bank-Kingfisher Airlines loan fraud case investigated by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The central agency recently filed a supplemental charge sheet with a special CBI court here. Along with all 11 defendants named in the previous charges, the detective agency added the name of Buddhadev Dasguptaformer general manager of IDBI Bank in his latest additional charge.
The investigation agency said that by abusing his official position, Dasgupta conspired with IDBI Bank officers and Vijay Charm on the subject of sanctions and disbursement of short-term financing (STL extension) of Rs 150 crore in October 2009. The above loan of Rs 150 crore originally envisaged by Dasgupta (upon proposal circulated among credit committee members) was to be adjusted/repaid from the aggregate loan of Rs 750 crore originally requested by the airlines .
However, after dissemination, the proposal was changed to show as if the credit committee had treated it as a separate loan, which may (or may not) be adjusted/recovered from the aggregate loan. The charge sheet said that the exposure of IDBI Bank was to be limited to the aggregate amount of Rs 750 crore, but it became Rs 900 crore in Dec 2009 because the STL of Rs 150 crore was kept as a separate loan, largely at the behest of Dasgupta.
In the course of the investigation, letters rogatory (LR) had been sent to the UK, Mauritius, the USA and Switzerland based on the authorization of the CBI court. The courts of one country seek the assistance of the courts of another in the administration of justice through letters rogatory. The charge sheet mentioned the evidence gathered during the foreign investigations from these countries.
“The properties in the UK (Ladywalk in 2015-16 for GBP 12-13 million or Rs 80 crore) and France (“Le Grand Jardin” in 2008 for approximately Euro 35 million or Rs 250 crore) were also acquired by Mallya such as Kingfisher Airlines were facing a severe cash crunch (2008) and lenders still needed to recover defaulted loans from Mallya and the airlines (2015-16),” he said.
The charge sheet alleged that Mallya had adequate funds in place between 2008 and 2016-17, but none of these had been used to shore up the airlines as a capital infusion or to meet her obligations as personal guarantor for the loans under KAL had been availed by IDBI and other banks in India.
The charge sheet, citing evidence gathered via LR, alleges that substantial sums were transferred to the Force India Formula 1 team between 2008 and 2012. The charge sheet also alleges that significant sums were diverted from 2007 to 2012- 13 and used to make payments for the acquisition and loan repayment for the corporate jet used by Mallya personally.
In addition to the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating a money laundering case against Mallya. On 5 January 2019, a special court in Mumbai had declared Mallya a “fugitive”.
Based on the provisions of art Fugitive Economic Criminals Actonce a person has been declared an economic fugitive, the judicial authority has the power to confiscate his assets.
