CBI is probing the role of top bankers in connection with the loans given to Vijay Mallya

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the role of top bankers in connection with the loans given by banks to liquor baron Vijay Mallya's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, a media report said today.

Source:livemint.com

Mallya's erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines owes around Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of Indian banks and he has been on self-imposed exile in the UK since he left India on March 2, 2016.

According to a report by the Indian Express, the CBI has summoned a few bankers for recording their statements. It has also written to the consortium and the former chairman of a public sector bank, seeking information and documents.

This comes soon after the British judge hearing the extradition case of Mallya said that it was "blindingly obvious" that rules were being broken by Indian banks which sanctioned some of the loans to the Kingfisher Airlines. The judge asked Indian authorities to explain the case against some of the bank officials involved in providing loans to Mallya's company. 

Source:livemint.com

A report by the government's Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has also pointed to the role of bankers and has asked Central Vigilance Commission, CBI and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to “look into the aspect of violations of lending norms, if any, by the banks”.

Kingfisher Airlines owes over Rs 9,000 crore to at least 17 lenders. 62-year-old Mallya, who had fled to the UK in March 2016, is wanted in India for Kingfisher Airlines' default on loans worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore and some other matters.

Source:wikipedia.org

Indian authorities allege that while Kingfisher Airlines and the airline industry were in "intensive care", Mallya chose to palm off the losses to banks, in particular, state-owned banks.

He is currently facing a trial in the UK Court, to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities. He has already been declared a proclaimed offender by a Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA) Court.

If the judge rules in favour of extradition at the end of the trial, the UK home secretary must order Mallya's extradition within two months. However, the case can go through a series of appeals in higher UK courts before arriving at a conclusion.