Vijay Mallya used Force India, RCB for laundering: ToI

Vijay Mallya has used his sports ventures – Sahara Force India Formula 1 team and Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bangalore for fraudulently laundering money. The Enforcement Directorate, in its second charge sheet filed in a special court, has charged the fugitive liquor baron of laundering ₹9,990 crore bank loans through these sports entities, states the Time of India report.

Mallya has reportedly used Force India and Royal Challengers Bangalore for laundering the loan amounts he had fraudulently availed from a consortium of 17 banks. The consortium was led by State Bank of India. The former franchisee owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore has reportedly used the two companies for laundering bank loans worth ₹9,990 crore.

Mallya had, according to ED, taken a loan of ₹ 6,207 crores from the consortium of banks for his Kingfisher Airlines. The loan was sanctioned against brand guarantees by two Mallya companies – UB Holdings and Kingfisher Airlines. The amount with interest had reached ₹9,990 crore as the fugitive liquor king had defaulted in payments. Mallya had also used the part of the loan for buying a personal aircraft.

Chargesheet, according to ToI report, has stated that Mallya diverted ₹ 255 crores to the UK. The money was then transferred to the Force India as advertising and promotional expenditure. In 2008 Mallya through fraudulent transactions had transferred ₹ 15.9 crores the loan money from Kingfisher Airline’s Deutsche Bank account to RCB bank account.

ED last year had also charged Mallya and his eight associates for ₹900 crore fraud with the IDBI Bank and money laundering. According to ED, Mallya has used shell companies with dummy directors for money laundering.

The charge sheet is primarily based on a complaint filed by the State Bank of India. The Enforcement Directorate had filed an FIR in the case in August 2016 after going through a CBI FIR.

After this chargesheet, the central probe agency would immediately seek permission from a court to “confiscate” assets worth more than ₹9,000 crore of the beleaguered businessman and his firms under the recently promulgated Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance.

Vijay Mallya used Force India, RCB for laundering: ToI