Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced yesterday that ED has recovered Rs 22 thousand crore in different cases. This also includes recovery of Rs 14,131 crore from fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya. After the Finance Minister’s announcement, the former head of Kingfisher Airlines has targeted the agency.
In a paste on X, Mallya said, “Debt Recovery Tribunal valued KFA loan at Rs 6,203 crore, including interest of Rs 1,200 crore. Finance Minister announced in Parliament that through ED, banks have recovered Rs 6,203 crore Rs 14,131 crore was recovered in lieu of, and I am still an economic offender.”
Also read: ED recovered assets worth ₹ 22 thousand crores from Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi: Finance Minister
Vijay Mallya said, “Until the ED and the bank can legally prove how they have recovered more than double the loan, I am entitled to relief, for which I will try.”
How and why ED recovered Rs 14,131 crore
According to the report of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), several cases were registered against Mallya in 2015 and 2016. It was alleged that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by them to defraud the bank-led consortium by obtaining fake people. This amount was diverted to India and abroad using shell companies.
The ED identified proceeds of crime worth Rs 11,290 crore (€1.25 billion), of which Rs 5,040 crore (€560.3 million) was seized through provisional attachment orders in 2016. The same year, Mallya was declared a criminal for absconding from India. Assets worth Rs 1,690 crore (€188 million) were also seized under Section 83 of the CrPC, without establishing any direct crime link.
Between 2016 and 2020, the ED issued 21 Egmont requests and letters rogatory (judicial requests for foreign assistance) to eight countries. These efforts led to the seizure of various assets, including assets worth €1.6 million in France and other assets in India and abroad.
Also read: Will fugitive Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya return to India? Modi spoke to UK PM
Mallya was declared a fugitive economic offender in 2019, and while his extradition from the UK was approved that year, ongoing court processes have delayed his return to India.
restoration of assets
In 2021, a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) ordered the bank consortium to return movable and immovable assets worth Rs 14,130 crore (€1.57 billion) even before the completion of the criminal case. This amount also included the interest that had accrued while the property was under government control and was 25% more than the identified proceeds of crime. Despite these developments, Mallya remains in the UK awaiting resolution of the extradition process, while the action by the bank and ED continues.
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