Vijay Mallya quietly sold off 2 properties before ED attached Rs 1,411 cr assets

NEW DELHI: Why did the Enforcement Directorate (ED) rush to attach Vijay Mallya's properties worth Rs 1,411 crore in a single day? The liquor baron, who is in London, sold off two properties worth several crores before the agency could attach them on Saturday, top sources told TOI.

One of the properties sold by Mallya is located in Coorg, while the other is close by, though officials refused to share details. 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. The agency obtained details of sale during its investigation and this will find mention in its complaint to the adjudicating authority within a month.

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.

Sources said they had information about Mallya, who left for London on March 2, disposing assets so that the provisional attachment action could be "frustrated". Officials termed Mallya's act "illegal". "Indulging in such activities by Mallya clearly indicates he has no intention to repay bank loans or come back to India," an officer said.

Responding to TOI in an email from London, Mallya said the ED attached his properties and assets of United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL), which was a public company and not even the subject of an ED investigation. "The assets purportedly attached under PMLA 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. Purely civil matters such as loan recovery are being connected with criminal allegations without any basis whatsoever."