PMO unduly favored Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines
NEW DELHI : United Progressive Alliance government seems to have unduly favoured Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines in sanctioning loans despite not meeting parameters for credit worthy companies.
CBI has charged the beleaguered businessman in the Rs 900 crore IDBI bank loan default case and accused him of misappropriating the money. The investigating authority has accused the liquor baron of cheating, criminal conspiracy thus quoting invoking sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of IPC and section 13(1)(D) of Prevention of Corruption Act in the chargesheet.
Mallya has also been declared a proclaimed offender by a special PMLA court in Mumbai on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe against him in the alleged bank loan default case.
A TV report alleges that Mallya had nexus with the UPA government. The news channels said it has accessed some emails and documents evidently indicate that Prime Miniser Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Chidambaram went out of the way in helping Mallya.
The businessman is reported to have sent an email, dated June 10, 2010, to his senior management team that the Chief Financial Officer – AK Ravi Nedungadi – is trying to organize funds for the crippling Kingfisher Airlines until the promised money comes from the Prime Minister’s or Finance Minister’s office.
Vijay Mallya has slammed the TV report and said in a tweet that he only “begged for help”. He said he never asked for loans but requested for policy changes i.e declared goods status for fuel,flat rate of state sales tax instead of ad Valorem, FDI etc .
Mallya said that KFA collapsed as oil prices peaked at $ 140 per barrel, the problems compounded further by state sales tax and falling rupee etc.
The beleaguered baron defended himself and said that documentary evidence are already submitted to CBI during the interrogation. He said, “Not one rupee was misused. On the contrary we invested over 4500 crores into KFA. And KFA being the largest domestic Airline was the worst hit. Government bailed out Air India but did not bail out KFA.So much for “favours””
On the other hand, the Central Bureau of Investigation has alleged that IDBI Bank officials unduly favoured Mallya and diluted the security requirements in respect of the Rs 950 crore loan and facilitated loan disbursement.
Earlier this week, market regulator SEBI also barred Mallya from the stock market for fraudulently diverting about Rs. 1,881 crore from United Spirits (USL) to various other entities within the UB Group, including now grounded Kingfisher Airlines (KFA).
