SPECIAL CBI COURT ISSUES NON-BAILABLE WARRANT AGAINST VIJAY MALLYA IN RS 180-CRORE LOAN DEFAULT CASE

NEW DELHI: A Mumbai-based special court has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Vijay Mallya, a fugitive businessman, in connection with a Rs 180-crore loan default case involving Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). The detailed order, issued by special CBI court judge SP Naik Nimbalkar on June 29, was made available on Monday.

The court noted that considering the CBI's submission and Mallya's status as a "fugitive", "this is a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW against him to secure his presence". The CBI, which is investigating the case, alleges that the promoter of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines caused a wrongful loss of over Rs 180 crore to the government-run bank by "wilfully" defaulting on payments.

Mallya, who has already been declared a fugitive economic offender in a money laundering case investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), currently resides in London, and the Indian government is seeking his extradition. The warrant was issued in relation to a cheating case registered by the CBI for the alleged diversion of loans obtained by Kingfisher Airlines from IOB between 2007 and 2012.

According to the CBI's chargesheet, the accused dishonestly and with intent to cheat, "wilfully" defaulted on the repayment obligations under the loans, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 141.91 crore due to default on loans and an additional wrongful loss of Rs 38.30 crores due to the conversion of loans to shares.

The court issued summons against Mallya and five other accused in the case after taking cognizance of the charge-sheet. However, the CBI pressed for the issuance of an NBW against Mallya, stating that "the accused is a fugitive and an absconder" and that he continues to subvert the process of law in India while living in England.

Considering the CBI's submission and the pending NBWs against Mallya in other cases, the court observed that no purpose would be served by issuing summons to him and deemed it a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW to secure his presence. Mallya, who is accused of defaulting on multiple loan repayments and money laundering, left India in March 2016 and was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in January 2019 by a special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).