In fresh trouble for controversial businessman Vijay Mallya, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a fresh money laundering case against him and his associates to investigate the alleged loan default of Rs 6,027 crore availed from a consortium of public sector banks.
Officials said the agency has filed the second criminal case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) after it recently obtained details of the case from CBI which has filed its FIR after getting a complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI).
The CBI had early this month filed a fresh case under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and cheating against Mallya on the basis of a complaint received from SBI on behalf of the consortium of lenders for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 6,027 crore to them by not keeping repayment commitments of loan taken during 2005-10.
By registering the fresh case, ED wants to strengthen its probe against the beleaguered liquor baron and expedite a slew of actions it has initiated against him, including getting issued a global arrest warrant by Interpol and attaching more of his assets under the stringent PMlA.
Besides these steps, it also wants to invoke the India-UK Mutual legal Assistance Treaty (MlAT) to force the businessman to return and join the investigation.