Mumbai: The special CBI court has issued fresh non bailable warrant against liquor barron Vijay Mallya in connection with CBI's case for default of loan taken from Indian Overseas Bank.
The case was registered on the complaint of State Bank of India, wherein the loan granted by Indian Overseas bank was restructured and fresh credit facility was given to Kingfisher under the corporate guarantee of United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) and personal guarantee of Vijay Mallya.
It was alleged that between 2007 - 2010 the Indian Overseas bank had granted total 5 loans to Kingfisher worth total Rs 255 crores. The company had paid two loans of Rs 100 crores and remaining three loans were pending. In the meanwhile in 2010, the reserve bank had asked SBI to lead the consortium of 18 banks and reconstruct the pending loans.
Thus three pending loans to the tune of Rs 127.68 crores were reconstructed and additionally a loan of Rs 89.38 crores was also sanctioned in June 2010. Further, in December 2010 two fresh loans to the tune of Rs 18.89 crores and 10.56 crores were also santion. Lastly in February 2012, the Indian Overseas bank had sanctioned a loan of Rs 20 crores. All these loans turned NPA causing a loss of Rs 141.91 Crores on the account of default on loans and an additional wrongful loss of Rs.38.30 Crores on account of conversion of loans to shares.
As the loans turned NPA, the SBI had moved a complaint with CBI, which registered a case against Kingfisher, Mallya, UBHL and others on August 12, 2016. CBI after the investigation submitted a chargesheet in December 2021 against Mallya, Kingfisher, UBHL, A. Raghunathan, Shailesh Borkar - General Manager – Finance with Kingfisher ; Amit Nadkarni Dy. General Manager (Finance) - Kingfisher along with the officials of Indian Overseas bank Satya Mishra General Manager, Centralized Credit Processing Centre; Suhas Bhat Chief Managing Director of IOB, Anil Bansal, Executive Director of IOB, and Narendra Mairpady, Competent authority.
CBI claimed that, the first loan to the the tune of Rs 50 crores was obtained by Kingfisher using highly exaggerated data, making false promises re-financials for infusion of equity. Besides, the second loan of Rs 50 crores which was diverted to buy one Eurocopter.
Further a loan of Rs 80 crores in April 2008 was obtained to buy two helicopters. The loan howeverwas restructured in 2010. The CBI claimed that Borkar, falsely represented that the helicopters would be used for chartered operations for NHIs and corporate clients and made false net profitability projections and equity investment projections. The helicopters, purchased on directions of Mallya and were rarely used.
The court while taking cognisance of CBI's chargesheet said that, "The allegations pertaining to inducing bank to sanction and disburse the credit facilities to M/s. KAL on the basis of false rosy projections about the profitability equity infusion of the company, diversion of such loans for the purposes other than those avowed and dishonestly and with intent to cheat, willfully defaulted on the repayment obligations under the aforesaid loans , thereby causing a wrongful loss of Rs.141.91 crores on account of default on loans and an additional wrongful loss of Rs.38.30 crores on account of conversion of loans to CCPS /CRPS shares, are prima facie evident."
On the role of bank officials the court said, "the accused bank officers abused their official positions as public servants. They had showed undue favour to Mallya and Kingfisher, processed the loan proposals of Kingfisher in undue haste and sanctioned the same overlooking the precarious financial condition of the company."
"They deliberately and dishonestly defaulted on their obligations under such guarantees and alienated their respective assets in violation of the guarantee provisions, with the object to cause impediments in the banks’ recovery efforts and to evade their own liabilities under the said guarantees," the court further added while taking cognisance of CBI's case.
