Vijay Mallya’s former company United Spirits Limited (USL) after an internal probe revealed fund diversion and improper transactions of Rs 1,225 crore when it was being managed by Mallya, sources revealed today. In fresh hassles for Vijay Mallya, United Spirits on Saturday initially disclosed Rs 1,225.3 crore worth fund diversion and improper transactions with entities associated with the beleaguered businessman including Kingfisher Air and his Formula One team.
The company, acquired by the British liquor giant from Mallya’s UB Group in 2013 in a multi-billion dollar deal, made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal ‘Additional Inquiry’.
Sources said that ED suspects that officials of Diageo had played a vital role in chalking out the Rs 500 crore ‘sweetheart deal’. ED will now probe the Rs 1,225 crore fund diversion. Following the disclosure, few Diageo officials had been summoned by ED in the last 15 days. It is believed that internal probe was an outcome of pressure from investigating agencies.
[related-posts]
Mallya, who has been in UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him ‘wilful defaulter’ for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February. Under the ‘sweetheart deal’, he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any ‘personal liability’ at that time.
(With inputs from PTI)