New Delhi: Before Enforcement Directorate (ED) could attach Vijay Mallya's assets, the liquor baron had sold two properties worth several crores, a report said.
One of worth the properties sold by Mallya is located in Coorg in Karnataka and other is somewhere near it. The ED is trying to find out whether Mallya received money from the sales and if it has been remitted to him or his firms aboad, Times of India reported.
After ED learned that Mallya was selling off his properties to avoid their seizure by banks and investigation agencies, ED approached a it ahead with the court on Friday and got him declared a 'proclaimed offender'. On Saturday, ED attached properties worth Rs 1,411 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
After learning that Mallya is quietly disposing assets in India to avoid their seizure by banks and investigation agencies, the ED swiftly approached a court on Friday and got the liquor baron declared a 'proclaimed offender'. It then went ahead with provisional attachment of properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Saturday.
"We have attached properties worth Rs 1,411 crore (as per the market value) of Vijay Mallya and UB Limited under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," an Enforcement Directorate official said.
The assets brought under the "provisional attachment" order include bank balance of Rs 34 crore, a flat each in Bengaluru and Mumbai (2,291 sqft and 1,300 sqft respectively), an industrial plot in Chennai (4.5 acres), a coffee plantation land in Coorg (28.75 acres) and residential and commercial constructed areas in UB city and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru (84,0279 sqft).
The newspaper quoted an official who termed Mallya's act "illegal" and said that "Indulging in such activities by Mallya clearly indicates he has no intention to repay bank loans or come back to India."
Reacting to attachment of properties, Mallya said on Sunday that there is “no rationale nor any legal basis” behind such action and alleged that government agencies are pursuing a “heavily biased investigation” against him.
“The assets purportedly attached under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) date back to several years prior to the launch of Kingfisher Airlines. There is no rationale nor any legal basis for the series of actions initiated by the ED which is now making it more difficult to raise resources to pay the Banks,” Mallya said in a statement.
