Will get our due share from sale of Vijay Mallya's assets: PNB chief

Punjab National Bank (PNB) will get its due share after fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya's assets are sold to recover Rs 5,646 crore of the loan amount due to a consortium of banks, its Managing Director SS Mallikarjuna Rao said on Saturday.

Rao, who is also Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PNB, told the media here that a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has given permission to banks to sell certain real estate properties and securities belonging to Mallya to recover due loan amount of over Rs 5,646 crore.

"It was earlier under Enforcement Directorate. Now the lead bank will sell those properties. PNB doesn't have much loan exposure in Kingfisher, but we will get our due share," he said.

The PNB chief said that other banks have more loan exposure than PNB and banks are gradually recovering their amount.

The special PMLA court in Mumbai on Tuesday allowed the restoration of properties worth Rs 5,646 crores to banks.

A consortium of banks, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), which had given loans to Mallya can now move to sell his certain real estate properties and securities. The court lifted the claim of the Enforcement Directorate on the assets it had seized.

In 2019, lenders led by SBI, had sought restoration of Mallya's properties attached by the investigative agency under the provisions of PMLA. SBI has the highest exposure of Rs 1,600 crores out of the original loan of Rs 6,900 crore to the defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Other banks that have exposure to the defunct airline include Punjab National Bank (Rs 800 crore) and IDBI Bank (Rs 800 crore), Bank of India (Rs 650 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 550 crore), and Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore).

Mallya is accused of fraud and money laundering allegedly amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore, which involved his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

( With inputs from ANI )

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