A special CBI court in Mumbai has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya in a Rs 180-crore loan default case linked to Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Special CBI court judge SP Naik Nimbalkar issued the NBW against Mallya on June 29, and a detailed order was made available on Monday.
Citing other non-bailable warrants issued against the 68-year-old businessman after taking into account CBI submission, and his status as a "fugitive", the court noted, "this is a fit case to issue an open-ended NBW against him to secure his presence".
The court observed, "The present case is of multiple loans amounting to nearly Rs180 crores given by Indian overseas Bank between 2007-2012 to Vijay Mallya and his company. There are a total of 10 accused in this case including Vijay Mallya and the FIR was registered in this case in August 2016. All accused have been issued summons to appear but for Vijay Mallya, the special CBI court has issued non-bailable warrant also."
The CBI, probing the case, has claimed the promoter of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines caused the government-run bank a wrongful loss of more than Rs 180 crore by "wilfully" defaulting on payments.
The embattled liquor tycoon, who has already been declared a fugitive economic offender in a money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate(ED), currently resides in London and the Indian government is seeking his extradition.