An Indian court has issued a warrant for the arrest Vijay Mallya, the former head of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya is wanted for failing to appear on three occasions for questioning by investigators probing the misuse of funds loaned to Kingfisher Airlines.
India Enforcement Directorate suspects that $64m from $134m loaned by state-owned IDBI Bank to Kingfisher Airlines was siphoned out of the then struggling airline to buy property overseas.
Mallya’s private holding company, the UB Group, strenuously denies the allegations, insisting that credit provided to the air carrier by IDBI was “used for legitimate business purposes only”.
Mallya, who is believed to be in the UK, has had his diplomatic passport suspended due to his non-cooperation with this investigation.