CBI: First look-out notice to Vijay Mallya issued by mistake by junior level

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Vijay Mallya to appear before it on March 18. Now Mallya who is known to be in London, has a week to return to India. The ED also had interrogated Ravi Nedungadi the former chief financial officer (CFO) and a close aide of Mallya and A Raghunathan the current CFO of the company for seven hours in connection with the loan default.

In another turn of events in the case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that is under fire after he managed to leave the country said that the first lookout notice for the Kingfishers's boss detention at the country's exit points was issued in error.

"The detention order issued against Vijay Mallya by CBI was an error by a lower level officer," the CBI said.

The investigation agency also said that Mallya had cooperated when being questioned on December 9 and 10 in New Delhi, and on December 12 in Mumbai.

The agency was yesterday accused of having eased the lookout notice against Mallya from seeking his detention while leaving the country.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned the liquor baron to appear before the agency next Friday for questioning in the ongoing probe into a money-laundering case.

The development comes five days after the ED Mumbai registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act last Monday and a day after it summoned former top officials of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) and IDBI bank which lent the airline Rs 900 crores.