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The Enforcement Directorate has facilitated the restitution of ₹311.67 crore towards long-pending workmen dues of Kingfisher Airlines Limited (KAL), a elder bureau authoritative said connected Thursday (December 18, 2025).
Also Read | SBI yet to merchandise Kingfisher plus merchantability money, unit await dues
“The restitution has been enabled pursuant to the bid connected December 12, 2025, passed by the Recovery Officer, Debts Recovery Tribunal-I, Chennai, directing merchandise of funds realised from the merchantability of attached shares which had been earlier restituted to State Bank of India (SBI) by the ED nether PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act),” the authoritative said.
The magnitude is to beryllium transferred to the Official Liquidator for disbursement to erstwhile employees of Kingfisher Airlines.
Bank fraud
The ED had initiated its probe based connected the archetypal accusation reports registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against KAL, businessman Vijay Mallya, and associated entities for alleged slope fraud and transgression conspiracy.
“The probe revealed that important portions of indebtedness facilities availed by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. were diverted for servicing existing debts with different banks and lenders, settling documentary bills discounted by Bank of Baroda, and remitting important amounts overseas connected the pretext of lease rentals and acquisition of craft parts,” the authoritative said.
During the investigation, ED identified and provisionally attached properties and assets of Mr. Mallya, KAL, and associated entities, aggregating to ₹5,042 crore, successful summation to the attachment of properties worthy ₹1,694.52 crore nether the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure.
‘Workmen’s dues instrumentality priority’
Based connected the findings, the ED filed prosecution complaints against the accused persons. Mr. Mallya was declared a wanted idiosyncratic nether the Fugitive Economic Offences Act connected January 5, 2019.
“Further, connected applications filed by the SBI-led slope consortium nether Section 8(8) of PMLA, the Special Court permitted restitution of each attached properties done the Recovery Officer, DRT, Bengaluru, and the ED has accordingly restituted the attached assets to the consortium banks... the ED has restored properties/assets amounting to ₹14,132 crore to the SBI, thereby creating the plus excavation from which the contiguous restitution has been facilitated,” said the official.
The ED coordinated with each stakeholders to guarantee colony of the long-pending workmen dues. “Acting upon the ED’s facilitation, SBI approached the DRT (Debt Recovery Tribunal) by filing an Interlocutory Application No. 01/2025, offering the restituted assets for discharge of workmen dues and expressly consenting to the precedence of specified dues implicit secured creditor claims,” the bureau said.
It culminated successful the DRT directing the Official Liquidator to disburse workmen dues mounting to ₹311.67 crore to erstwhile employees of Kingfisher Airlines.
