The CBI is likely to widen its probe against the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines for defaulting on repayment of loans worth Rs3,100 crore taken from 10 PSU banks and allegedly parking the funds in tax havens abroad. This amount is in addition to the Rs900-crore loan availed by the battered airlines from IDBI Bank for which the agency has already registered a regular case and searched the premises of the company and its officials — including the Airlines Director Vijay Mallya.
A portion of the Rs3,100-crore loans worth over Rs1,280 crore (200 million dollars) was diverted to foreign shores and parked in tax havens even as the advances were being treated as Non-Performing Assets by the public sector banks.
Other than the IDBI, the other banks exposed to the Kingfisher Airlines include the State Bank of India (SBI), State Bank of Mysore, United Bank of India (UBI), Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Bank of India (BoI), Corporation Bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and UCO Bank
“The CBI is examining the allegations relating to the Kingfisher Airlines availing loans worth Rs3,100 crore, defaulting on repayment and parking a portion of the advances to the tune of USD 200 millions in tax havens in foreign countries. Soon after ascertaining the prima facie culpability of the firm and the PSU banks, the agency will register more FIRs and formally investigate the criminality involved in these suspect transactions,” a senior CBI official said.
The agency had on Saturday conducted searches at the residential and official premises of liquor baron Vijay Mallya in his capacity as director of Kingfisher Airlines at five locations in three cities in connection with alleged default of over Rs900 crore loan from IDBI Bank that was sanctioned ignoring the negative net worth and credit rating of the company. Official and residential premises of Mallya in Mumbai, Goa and Bangalore were searched by the agency.
The searches were conducted soon after the agency converted a Preliminary Enquiry into a Regular case against Kingfisher Airlines, company’s Director Mallya, the Chief Financial Officer of the Airlines A Raghunathan and other unknown officials of the IDBI Bank.