Former IDBI GM conspired with Vijay Mallya over loan to Kingfisher Airlines: CBI

A senior IDBI Bank official allegedly conspired with businessman Vijay Mallya for sanction and disbursement of loan to the latters Kingfisher Airlines the Central Bureau of Investigation said in its supplementary chargesheet filed in a Mumbai courtMallya is an accused in the alleged Rs 900crore IDBI BankKingfisher Airlines loan fraud case which is being probed by the CBI The Central agency had recently filed a supplementary chargesheet before a special CBI courtAs per the chargesheet former IDBI Bank general manager Buddhadev Dasgupta abused his position conspired with colleagues and Mallya in the matter of sanction and disbursement of short term loan STL of Rs 150 crore to Kingfisher Airlines in October 2009Along with 11 accused named in the earlier chargesheets the CBI has added the name of Dasgupta in the supplementary chargesheet filed recentlyAs per the CBI the STL was requested for six months to meet certain critical obligations to overseas vendors including aircraft lessors and other service providersThe said loan of Rs 150 crore as envisaged originally by Dasgupta by proposal circulated among credit committee members was to be adjustedrepaid from the aggregate loan of Rs 750 crore originally sought by the airlinesAlso Read Vijay Mallya bought properties worth Rs 330 cr in England France even as Kingfisher Airlines was in crisis CBIHowever after circulation there was change in the proposal to show as if the credit committee had treated this as a separate loan which may or may not be adjustedrecovered from the aggregate loan as per the CBIWhile the exposure of IDBI Bank was to be restricted to the aggregate amount of Rs 750 crore it rose to Rs 900 crore in December 2009 due to this STL being kept as a separate loan largely at the behest of Dasgupta the chargesheet saidDuring the course of investigation Letter Rogatory LRs had been sent to the United Kingdom Mauritius USA and Switzerland as per the permission of the CBI courtCourts of one country seek the assistance of courts in another nation for the administration of justice there through LRsThe chargesheet also mentioned the evidence collected during foreign investigation from these countriesThe properties at UK Ladywalk in 201516 for GBP 1213 million or Rs 80 crore and France Le Grand Jardin in 2008 for Euro 35 Million or Rs 250 crore approximately were acquired by Mallya even as Kingfisher Airlines was facing severe cash crunch 2008 the chargesheet saidMallya was having adequate funds at his disposal between 2008 to 201617 but none of it was brought to support the airlines as equity infusion or to honour his obligations as personal guarantor for the loans availed by KAL from IDBI and other banks in India it addedThe chargesheet citing the evidence collected through LRs said sizable amounts were transferred to Force India Formula 1 Team between 2008 to 2012The chargesheet further said significant amounts were diverted between 2007 to 201213 to make payments towards acquisition and repayment of loan for a corporate jet used personally by MallyaThese acts on the part of Mallya clearly show he caused diversion of funds for the corporate jet Force India Formula One Racing Team and other such extravagant expenses and then wilfully defaulted on the loans availed by Kingfisher Airlines the chargesheet statedThe aforesaid facts disclose commission of offences like cheating and criminal conspiracy and others under Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act provisions against Mallya Dasgupta and other accused as per the CBIApart from the CBI the Enforcement Directorate is also probing a money laundering case against MallyaOn January 5 2019 a special court here had declared Mallya a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act Under the provisions of the Act once a person is declared a fugitive economic offender the prosecuting agency has the powers to confiscate his propertyA senior IDBI Bank official allegedly conspired with businessman Vijay Mallya for sanction and disbursement of loan to the latters Kingfisher Airlines the Central Bureau of Investigation said in its supplementary chargesheet filed in a Mumbai court