India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a probe into why a INR9.5 billion loan from the IDBI bank to the grounded Kingfisher Airlines was approved when the airline was already carrying significant debt.
CBI spokeswoman Kanchan Prasad said: “When the company was in the red why did the IDBI bank give the loan?”
Kingfisher currently owes nearly US$1.5 billion to banks, airports, fuel suppliers, staff and other parties.
The airline, which did not register a profit since it started operating in 2005, lost its licence to fly two years ago after it failed to end a strike by staff over a failure to pay wages.
Prasad said the CBI had carried out a “preliminary enquiry” into the loan over the past two months. The next step could be the filing of a formal case.
Indian authorities investigate Kingfisher loans
