NEWS

ED recoups Rs 9,371 cr for banks in Mallya, Nirav Modi and Choksi fraud cases

Seized assets of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi worth Rs 9,371 cr have been transferred by ED to public sector banks.

Seized assets of fugitive businessmen Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi worth Rs 9,371.17 crore have been transferred by the Enforcement Directorate to public sector banks.

The total assets attached by the ED are worth Rs 18,170.02 crore, which is 80.45% of the total loss to banks.

The central probe agency expects to realise by 25 June a further Rs 800 crore by sale of shares.

The agency recently transferred shares attached by it (worth about Rs 6,600 crore) to the SBI-led consortium, as per order of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Mumbai.

The Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT), on behalf of an SBI-led consortium that lent money to Mallya, on Wednesday sold shares worth over Rs 5,800 crore of United Breweries Limited (UBL) that were earlier attached by the agency under provisions of the PMLA.

This attachment was earlier done by the ED as part of its criminal probe against 65-year-old Mallya, who is now in the UK, news agency PTI reported.

Mallya and fugitive diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, who were involved in the PNB scam, "defrauded public sector banks by siphoning off the funds through their companies which resulted in a total loss of Rs 22,585.83 crore to the banks", the ED said.

As on date, the agency has attached total assets worth Rs 18,170.02 crore in these two bank fraud cases, it said.

"Assets worth Rs 329.67 crore have been confiscated and assets worth Rs 9,041.5 crore, representing 40 per cent of the total loss to the banks have been handed over to public sector banks," the ED said in a statement.

While the Punjab National Bank fraud at its Brady House branch in Mumbai is alleged to be worth nearly Rs 13,000 crore, Mallya is accused to have cheated the banks of Rs 9,000 crore by way of criminal loan default in the operations of Kingfisher Airlines.

Mallya has lost the case challenging his extradition to India and has "been denied permission to file an appeal in the UK Supreme Court".

"His extradition to India has become final," the ED said.

Modi, now in the UK, has also lost his extradition battle. His uncle Choksi had mysteriously gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been staying since 2018 as a citizen, and later surfaced in neighbouring Dominica.