The lender, which include 15 banks primarily the State Bank of India (SBI), are seeking to recover over Rs6,200 crore from Mallya.
Vijay Mallya in London. (Photo: AFP)
A special court on Monday permitted banks that lent money to former liquor baron Vijay Mallya to utilise movable assets towards repayment of his debt, which could fetch the lenders around Rs 11,000 crore.
While delivering the decision, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai said that the ruling has been stayed till January 18, until which all parties affected by the verdict could appeal before the Bombay High Court.
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The seized assets, comprising financial securities like shares of the United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL), were attached by the special PMLA court in 2016 when it declared Mallya a proclaimed offender.
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The lender, which include 15 banks primarily the State Bank of India (SBI), are seeking to recover over Rs6,200 crore from Mallya.
During the hearing, the ED asked the court to seek a guarantee from the lenders that they would return the money to the court or to the ED, if the accused wins the trial.
Mallya had fled India in March 2016 and has been living in the United Kingdom since then. He remains on bail pending the UK High Court appeal hearing in the extradition proceedings brought by Indian authorities.
Last year, the PMLA court had declared Mallya as a fugitive economic offender (FEO) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. He is the first person to be censored under the said law.
(With input from agencies)
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