ED seeks fugitive-tag for Mallya; moves court to confiscate Rs.12,500cr-assets
Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed the first case under "Fugitive Economic Offender Ordinance" to declare Vijay Mallya a fugitive offender and to confiscate his assets worth Rs. 12,500cr (including movable and immovable properties). Officials said ED filed an application before a special court in Mumbai, under the recently promulgated law that empowers it to confiscate "all linked assets" of an absconding loan defaulter.
The action against Mallya has been taken in pursuance of two bank loan money laundering cases of over Rs. 9,000cr involving the IDBI Bank and a SBI-led consortium. In the application, the ED furnished evidence that it filed as part of its two charge-sheets against Mallya under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The central agency asked courts to issue non-bailable warrants against him.
The agency charged that Mallya "had no intention to repay the loans from the start and though he and M/s UBHL (United Breweries Holdings Limited) had substantial assets that were sufficient to repay the loans, they intentionally withheld the details from the banks." "The investigation under PMLA also revealed several instances of diversion of funds to benefit Mallya through Kingfisher Airlines," it said.
The agency will soon undertake the same action against absconding designer diamond jeweler Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, accused in the $2 billion PNB fraud case, apart from other such big bank loan defaulters, officials said.
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 12 but couldn't be taken up due to the logjam in Parliament over different issues. With Parliament being adjourned sine die, an ordinance was proposed. The Union Cabinet on April 21 approved the ordinance and President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the promulgation of the same a day later.
A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offense and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution. Cases of frauds, cheque dishonor or loan default of over Rs. 100cr would come under the ambit of this ordinance.
