Kingfisher Airlines staff get ₹312 cr dues

New Delhi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has facilitated the restitution of ₹311.67 crore towards long-pending workmen dues of M/s Kingfisher Airlines Ltd (KAL). The restitution follows an order dated December 12, 2025, passed by the recovery officer of the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT)-I, Chennai, directing the release of funds realised from the sale of attached shares that had earlier been restituted to State Bank of India (SBI) by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The amount will be transferred to the official liquidator for disbursement to former employees of Kingfisher Airlines. The ED had initiated its investigation by registering multiple Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) based on FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against KAL, its promoter Vijay Mallya and associated entities for bank fraud and criminal conspiracy-scheduled offences under the PMLA. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ED said its investigation revealed that substantial portions of loan facilities availed by M/s Kingfisher Airlines Ltd were diverted towards servicing existing debts with other banks and lenders, settling documentary bills discounted by Bank of Baroda, and remitting significant sums abroad on the pretext of lease rentals and purchase of aircraft parts. "During the course of investigation, ED identified and provisionally attached properties and assets of Vijay Mallya, KAL and associated entities aggregating ₹5,042 crore under Section 5(1) of the PMLA, in addition to attachment of properties worth ₹1,694.52 crore under Section 83 of the CrPC," the statement said. Based on the findings, the ED filed prosecution complaints against Vijay Mallya, KAL and associated entities under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. Subsequently, Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, in January 2019.