Warrant has been ordered based on complaint filed by SFIO.
A court has directed issuance of arrest warrant against defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya and 18 others in the Kingfisher Airlines case, on a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
The probe agency, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, has come across various violations of companies law in the case related to Kingfisher Airlines, which was grounded in 2012. A Special Court, constituted under the Companies Act, in Bengaluru has directed issuance of arrest warrants against Mallya and 18 others, according to a court document. Mallya, who has been based in the UK for a long time, is wanted in India for Kingfisher Airlines' default on loans worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore and some other matters.
As per the document, the amount involved in the case is heavy and that warrant has to be issued against all the accused. Besides, the court has ordered registering of a "special criminal case" against the 19 entities.
Following its investigation, the SFIO had red-flagged a slew of violations of companies law by Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and officials, including serious corporate governance lapses, sources had said. Among others, the probe agency had recommended examining the role of some banks as well as bank officials in sanctioning credit facilities to the airline apart from action against promoter directors, they had said.
The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have already filed their separate charge sheets against the businessman and other accused. The extradition trial of Mallya is going on in a UK court and the next hearing would start on January 10. Last August, the SFIO was given powers to arrest people for violations of companies law after the ministry notified relevant provisions.
Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering allegedly amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore, appeared in court last week in London for his extradition trial but the hearing was inconclusive as the defence is yet to complete its arguments.
The 62-year-old was back in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London as his defence team sought to argue against the admissibility of much of the evidence presented by the Indian government. Today's hearing was expected to be one of the final hearings in the case but it remained inconclusive as the defence is yet to complete its arguments, which seek to demolish the Indian government's case.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, is then set to respond and argue in favour of the evidence and against the defence's claim of "absence of a strong prima facie case on grounds of iniquity". Due to prior diary commitments, no date has been set for the next hearing on the matter and Mallya has been bailed until April 2. Both sides will determine a date to return to court to complete their representations on the admissibility of evidence in the case within the next three weeks.
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