CBI arrests former IDBI Bank chairman

New Delhi: The CBI on Monday arrested a former chairman and three other former officials of IDBI Bank along with four former executives of now-defunct Kingfisher airlines in connection with liquor baron Vijay Mallya loan default case.

According to sources, those arrested include the then chairman of IDBI Bank Yogesh Aggarwal and former CFO of now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines A. Raghunathan. Sources said three more former executives of the airlines and three more former officials of IDBI Bank were also taken into custody. The arrests were followed by searches at 11 places including Mallya’s residence in the national capital, three floors of UB towers in Bengaluru and residences of Aggarwal and Raghunathan among others. UB Group issued a statement in Bengaluru confirming the visit of CBI team. “A CBI team visited the UB Group offices in Bangalore today and we are fully cooperation with them”, said the statement issued by the group.

The agency has already registered two cases against Mallya who had left the country after changes were made in the CBI lookout circular against him enabling his exit. Last year, it had registered a case against him after receiving a complaint from the State Bank of India, which is leading a consortium of 17 banks which extended loans to Mallya’s now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Sources said it was alleged that Mallya had sought a recast of his loan repayment in which certain information was “suppressed” by the beleaguered businessman. Earlier, CBI had filed a case of alleged default in loan repayment by the Kingfisher Airlines to IDBI Bank. The airline had taken Rs 6,900 crore from the consortium of lenders in early 2010 after its loans had been restructured for a second time.