Second CBI charge-sheet soon against Mallya, to name officials
New Delhi, Sep 17 : The CBI will name some bank officials in its second charge-sheet to be filed soon against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya in a Rs 9,000-crore loan default case against him and his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, informed sources said.
Both serving and retired senior officials of a consortium of 17 banks, including the SBI, who had handled the Kingfisher Airlines loans, are to be named as accused in the charge-sheet as the CBI has gathered enough evidence against them on misuse of official position, the sources said.
The charge-sheet will mention the details of loan fraud committed by Mallya against a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI), said the sources, adding that some of these loans were granted despite Kingfisher's low creditworthiness and overvaluation of some securities.
Kingfisher began defaulting on loans beginning 2009-10.
According to the sources, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has come across the role of some senior bank officials in the irregularities while disbursing these loans.
The then Chief Managing Directors of banks -- O.P. Bhatt (SBI), T.S. Narayanaswami (Bank of India), M.D. Mallya (Bank of Baroda), S.K. Goel (UCO Bank), and then Chairman of United Bank -- are to be named in the charge-sheet against whom action was not taken in 2009 when a loan of Rs 2,000 crore was sanctioned to Kingfisher, said the sources.
"Bhatt is learnt to have led the consortium to offer the Rs 2,000 crore loan and also ensured that the SBI have a loan of Rs 300 crore on an ad hoc basis in August 2010."
Ex-Kingfisher Airlines Chief Financial Officer A. Raghunathan and other former senior executives are also likely to be named in the charge-sheet.
Mallya is currently facing extradition from London where he flew on March 2, 2016.
The CBI last year had filed a charge-sheet against Mallya in a separate case related to a Rs 900 crore pending loan given by IDBI Bank in which senior officials of the bank were allegedly involved.
The probe agency had registered two cases against Mallya related to the IDBI loans in 2015 and a consortium loan in 2016.
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering aspect in the case, have named IDBI officials B.K. Batra, Yogesh Agarwal, O.V. Bundelu, S.K Shrivastava and R.S. Sridhar in their charge sheets last year.
The CBI FIR alleged that the SBI and its consortium banks had advanced various credit facilities to Kingfisher Airlines between 2005 and 2010.
During 2009-10, the company failed to meet its repayment commitments to the banks.
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Owaisi dismisses Pak PM's 'threats' on Indus Water Treaty, says it won't impact India
Hyderabad, Aug 13 (PTI): AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday dismissed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's "threats" over the Indus Water Treaty, saying they would not have any impact on India.
Speaking to reporters here, Owaisi also said the BrahMos missile is India’s answer to Pakistan.
“You (Sharif) are the Prime Minister of a country… You are using such a language that it will not have any impact on us. The (Indian) government has kept the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance. Instead of showing some change, you are threatening. Threats will not have any impact on India. Enough of it,” he said, in response to a query on the remarks of Sharif, its army chief Asim Munir and other leaders on the treaty.
Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said India would not be allowed to snatch "even one drop" of water belonging to Pakistan, amid tensions between the two neighbours.
A day after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in "abeyance".
On Special Intensive Revision undertaken by the Election Commission in Bihar, the Hyderabad MP alleged that the names of many legitimate voters were being deleted.
He noted that the Centre has not specified which documents prove citizenship.
“The ministry responsible for citizenship is not stating what documents are admissible as proof of citizenship. Then, on what basis is ECI taking responsibility (for SIR). That's why, we say there is a lot of confusion. If name is not part of the SIR, it will be said you (concerned person) are not a citizen (of the country). What will people do then?” Owaisi asked.
Responding to a Congress leader’s allegations of fake voters in the assembly constituencies represented by AIMIM, he said election authorities have conducted verification and found nothing amiss when similar charges were levelled in the past.
Noting that many municipal corporations across the country have ordered the closure of slaughterhouses and meat shops on August 15, he termed it "unconstitutional" and sought to know the link between meat consumption and Independence Day celebration.
“These meat bans violate people’s right to liberty, privacy, livelihood, culture, nutrition and religion,” he added.
