Vijay Mallya case: CBI to name bank staff

Charge sheet likely to be filed soon in connection with a loan extended by a consortium of banks

Vijay Mallya stands outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London on September 12, 2018.

Many senior bank officials who had dealt with loans given to Kingfisher Airlines owned by Vijay Mallya may be named as accused in a CBI chargesheet likely to be filed within a month, sources said.

This will be the first chargesheet in the case pertaining to loans of over ₹6,000 crore given to the airline by a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India, which alone had lent ₹1,600 crore.

The agency filed a chargesheet against Mr. Mallya last year in connection with a separate case related to a ₹900-crore loan given by IDBI Bank in which senior officials of the bank were allegedly involved. It had also registered two cases against Mr. Mallya related to that loan in 2015 and the consortium loan in 2016.

Probe progressing

Refusing to give the names of the officials, the sources said the first phase of investigation of loans given by a consortium of banks was almost complete and the chargesheet may be filed within a month while keeping the investigation open.

Both serving and retired senior officials of the banks, including the State Bank of India, which had handled the Kingfisher Airlines loans, may be named as accused.

The agency had gathered enough evidence against them on misuse of official position, the sources said.

The top brass of erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines, including Mr. Mallya, its chief financial officer, A. Raghunathan, and other former senior executives, would also be named as accused in the case, the souces added.

They said the agency was also looking into the role of Finance Ministry officials who could have influenced the decision of the bankers.

Fund diversion

During the probe, the agency has gathered enough evidence to show that Mr. Mallya allegedly diverted the loan funds from the purpose for which they were given, they said.

The agency in its FIR has alleged that the State Bank of India and its consortium banks had advanced various credit facilities to Kingfisher Airlines between 2005 and 2010, they said.

During 2009-10, the company failed to meet its repayment commitments to the bank from which it had availed the credit facilities and Kingfisher Airlines did not keep its account with the consortium banks regularly which became NPA, the FIR stated.

The consortium banks, therefore, recalled the credit facilities and also invoked corporate guarantee of UBHL and personal guarantee of Mr. Mallya, it alleged. Mr. Mallya deliberately did not repay the amount, outstanding dues payable by Kingfisher Airlines to the consortium of banks, the sources said.