New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) : A day after the Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore of Vijay Mallya and one of his companies, the liquor baron today said there is "no rationale nor any legal basis" behind such action and alleged that government agencies are pursuing a "heavily biased investigation" against him.

Reacting to the ED action, Mallya said "The assets purportedly attached under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) 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."

In a statement, he said, "Purely civil matters such as loan recovery are being connected with criminal allegations without any basis whatsoever."

He said "media reports and a tweet from the ED suggest that the ED has attached various properties belonging to myself and United Breweries Holdings Ltd which is a public Company and not even the subject of any ED investigation".

Mallya said the ED's latest move seems to be "to approach the PMLA Court to declare me a proclaimed absconder for reasons that I cannot understand".

He said he left India "as per schedule on March 2 to attend meetings in Geneva at which time no ED proceedings had commenced and no summons issued" to him.

"All government agencies are also approaching various Courts to cancel previous exemptions from personal appearance granted to me so that further NBW's can be issued against me all of which seems to be part of a concerted effort to construct a case for my extradition," Mallya added.

He further stated "it surely appears as if these agencies are pursuing a heavily biased investigation and are already holding me guilty without trial after which I need to prove my innocence".

Stating that he has been reaching out to the "banks asking them to nominate a committee to sit across the table and negotiate a one time settlement with us".

"The ED obtained a NBW against me for non-appearance before them despite three summons. I never refused to appear but sought time as I was trying to sell assets to pay the employees, tax authorities and Banks. Instead, at the ED's behest my passport was revoked despite my offering to appear before the ED by video conference and make statements on oath which is permissible," Mallya said.

He also refuted ED's allegation that "proceeds from the loan made to Kingfisher Airlines by IDBI Bank were diverted or siphoned out" saying "Kingfisher Airlines have provided full details supported by copies of bank statements and swift copies showing that the funds were utilised only for legitimate business purposes".

If the ED wish to expand their scope to include all Banks, Kingfisher Airlines will be only too happy to provide full details and co-operate in the investigation, he added.

Commenting on reports of CBI constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to further investigate Kingfisher Airlines and him, Mallya said, "It is, indeed, sad and disappointing that the thousands of documents submitted by us and interrogation of several executives seems insufficient to convince them there has been no wrongdoing. I have maintained and continue to maintain that there has been absolutely no misappropriation or diversion of funds and strenuously deny any allegation to the contrary."

The UB Group has itself invested over Rs 6,000 crores of own money into Kingfisher Airlines which has been lost due to a genuine business failure. At the relevant time Air India received a bail out package of Rs 30,000 crores from the Government which serves to reinforce the stressed position of the Aviation sector at that time, Mallya said.

Reacting to the latest developments, Mallya said: "I am deeply pained to keep reading in the media that Government agencies are planning further unprecedented action against me."

Earlier news

Vijay Mallya PMLA case - ED sends detailed letter to Interpol

New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent a detailed communication, along with legal inputs, to the Interpol which had recently sought some "clarifications" from it before notifying an arrest warrant against liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in a money laundering case emerging from an alleged Rs 900 crore bank loan fraud.

The agency has told Interpol that it has followed all legal procedures for seeking a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him. It has also said that orders were issued by the courts after hearing the counsels of ED and Mallya, officials said.

The ED has told the global police body that issuance of RCN against Mallya is "obligatory" on the part of Interpol as all due legal processes have been followed by Indian probe agencies to seek such a warrant against an accused to make him join probe and ensure justice to the victim (banks).

It has also informed Interpol that the agency is seeking a proclaimed offender status against Mallya from a competent court. A decision in this regard is expected from a Mumbai court tomorrow.

Earlier, Interpol had asked the ED to provide certain detailed information on the legal processes undertaken by the agency in the case before it can notify a RCN against Mallya.

The RCN was sought sometime back by the investigating officer of the case to make the beleaguered businessman join probe in the Rs 900 crore alleged loan fraud of the IDBI bank, which is also being probed by CBI.

Yesterday, the ED's Mumbai office had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore of Mallya and one of his company.

Mallya had left India on March 2 using his diplomatic passport and is believed to be in the UK.

An RCN is issued "to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action" in a criminal case probe.

Once an RCN is issued, Interpol seeks to arrest the person concerned in any part of the world and notifies that country to take his or her custody for further action at their end.

Mallya and others are being probed by the ED in the Rs 900 crore IDBI loan fraud case in which it registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) early this year.

Britain had recently made it clear that Mallya cannot be deported and asked India to seek his extradition instead and the agency is mulling invoking the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) existing between the two countries to get this job done.

The British government said it acknowledges "the seriousness of allegations" against Mallya and was "keen to assist" the Indian government in this case.