Vijay Mallya on Friday appeared headed for another financial setback, as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) prepared itself to attach the ‘proclaimed offender’-businessman's fresh assets worth Rs 1,700 crore of the under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in connection with a money laundering case.
A day after Special Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) court of judge PR Bhavke declared Mallya a 'proclaimed offender' and directed the ED to attach movable properties listed by the agency in its plea to the court, sources said that the investigating agency said would issue orders for fresh attachment of frozen shares and pledged shares.
According to ED officials, the total value of these movable assets which includes shares is worth Rs 1,700 crore. This seizure will be carried out under the provisions of the CrPC.
The to-be attached assets worth Rs 1,700 would be in addition to the assets worth Rs 8,041 crore attached earlier under the provisions of PMlA.
Among other things, the PMlA court had on Thursday ordered that frozen and pledged shares belonging to Mallya "be attached by way of seizure and by prohibiting the delivery of such property to the accused or any other person on his behalf until further order."
The court had, however, rejected ED's request for attachment of Mallya's overseas properties. Mallya had quietly left the country on March 2 amid reports about his airline having defaulted on repayment of over Rs 9,000 crore to the banks.
He has been evading summons by courts ever since he clandestinely left the country on March 2 for the United Kingdom, where he is currently based.
It may be recalled that on June 14, the PMlA court had declared Mallya a "proclaimed offender" in the IDBI loan fraud-cum-money laundering case.
The court had declared Mallya a "proclaimed offender" under section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which makes it mandatory on the offender to appear before the ED within 30 days of the publication of proclamation.
However, with Mallya having failed to comply with the proceedings launched under Section 82 of Cr.PC, the ED had invoked Section 83 of Cr.PC and moved the PMlA court last month to seek an order from it to attach any property, both movable and immovable, belonging to absconding industrialist against whom several arrest warrants were pending.
The ED had in the last week of June this year attached United Breweries Holding ltd (UBHl) and Mallya assets worth Rs 1,411 crore in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Coorg and Chennai, in connection with its money laundering case.
Subsequently, the ED attached the assets, properties, and shares of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, total worth amounting to Rs 6,630 crore. The properties attached included flats in Kingfisher Tower, Bengaluru, (Rs 565 crores) and Macdowell Holding Co. held by Mallya/ UBHl and his controlled entities (Rs 3635 crore).