SC to hear banks' plea against Mallya

New Delhi, July 18 (ANI): The Supreme Court will today hear the contempt petition filed by a consortium of banks against businessman Vijay Mallya. In April, the apex court had directed Mallya to disclose all of his assets held by him and his family. The consortium of banks had also rejected his offer to repay Rs. 4,000 crores as settlement of all debts. The one-time owner of Kingfisher Airlines owes 17 banks, including the State Bank of India, over Rs. 9,000 crore with interest. One time Member of Parliament, Mallya is under investigation by various agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which probes white collar crimes. Last month, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai had declared Mallya a proclaimed offender in a loan default case. On March 13, Mallya claimed that the consortium had already recovered Rs. 2, 494 crore from Kingfisher Airlines since 2013. On June 11, the Enforcement Directorate had attached properties worth Rs. 1,411 crore of Mallya and UB Ltd in connection with its money laundering probe in the IDBI Bank loan default case. Mallya left for the United Kingdom on March 2 using his diplomatic passport that was later revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)