ED Restitutes Rs 300 Crore to Ex-Kingfisher Employees

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has restituted over Rs 300 crore to former Kingfisher Airlines workers, fulfilling long-pending dues. This follows a Debts Recovery Tribunal directive to use funds from attached shares, initially given to SBI. Fugitive Vijay Mallya's involvement led to asset seizures under the PMLA.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Thursday that it has returned more than Rs 300 crore towards settling longstanding dues owed to former employees of Kingfisher Airlines, a company once promoted by fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

This financial restitution follows a directive issued on December 12 by the Debts Recovery Tribunal in Chennai. The tribunal ordered the release of funds generated from the sale of attached shares, which had initially been given to the State Bank of India by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to the agency's statement.

The sum, totaling Rs 311.67 crore, will be transferred to the official liquidator, who will then distribute the funds to the former airline employees. The ED had booked Kingfisher Airlines, Mallya, and others in relation to a bank loan fraud case. Vijay Mallya was declared a fugitive economic offender by a special Mumbai court in 2019 under the Fugitive Economic Offender Act of 2018.

(With inputs from agencies.)